Mercy Seat

In profile, the face looks different. A matter of perspective, one might say. The way the case is made to exact specifications carries speculation beyond its varied dimensions like the orientation of an owl’s head bearing left or right as easy as behind, before. Golden air where wings unmoving move us higher— a spiral staircase, […]

An Artist in his Studio on Ash Wednesday

It begins with fire white heat blazing a trail black—a way to follow And he does ambles through ashes finds the burning turn within So he prepares his paint— a small bowl of darkness collected from the soles of his shoes The canvases file into his studio some fresh, newly stretched others worn by weather […]

Suspended

Watching a gull circle then hover over an inlet on a spectacular spring day one has to be reminded to take a breath now and again In that moment there exists only a single white angel on a soft blue canvas and endless gallery hours But it won’t go on forever The bird will fly […]

It will be called the highway of holiness

But we prefer the freeway its endless billboards of promise its white lines we hoard to build our picket lives— a testament to progress. Freedom is in the foot that accelerates, in passing on the left or right, advancing on the might of our engines. We deride the student driver who looks back, uses her […]

Yahweh’s Delight

Sticky beneath me, this red vinyl cushion may explain the sparsely populated dining room and surprised look of the hostess when I indicate a desire to dine in. Of course, it could also be the collection of gaudy gold Buddhas or dusty display of ornamental fans that encourage a brisk take-out business. Whatever the case, […]

Popcorn Machine

When they hauled you out of the janitor’s closet for the last time you limped down the center of the hallway, a popped tire impeding your progress. The lockers, dressed in black, stood still at your passing, saying nothing. So you went on your way, all silence except the soft thud of your deflated self—a […]

I know what you mean

the way you sit on your bicycle at the end of the driveway, training wheels firmly grounded, helmet a size too big for your head. The world is out there a pedal push away each rotation a revelation— a turning into self. But today, it’s enough to set your gaze on the street corner— one […]

A Whereness

One wall of this hotel room appears freshly painted, makes me curious what happened here before I arrived. Did an angry fist finally broke through or a child first meet her muse, leave an unappreciated mural— a fitting start to the artistic life? Imaginations never sleep well in hotels, no wonder the mini-bar is so […]

After Christmas

It lies not where it first fell. Someone placed it here at roadside, added a toe tag for pickup. Its boughs now heavy with snow still sparkle as they once did in the bay window of this home. And the needles, yet green, have life to give—a gift of color to stark souls drifting by. […]

Epiphany

Glory always fades, just ask Moses about the bag over his head. Or inquire with anyone whose fifteen minutes have come and gone. A star may rise in the east, but sooner or later it will set in the west. It’s been said that famous people die in threes; perhaps this collective dimming eases us […]