Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
G.C. WaldrepApril 20, 2018

Thy breath is beautiful upon the hills.
       In Thine eyes is strength.
I reach out my hand to touch the bright
razor wire around the fire tower.
It flashes like your teeth,
plucked & settled in their monstrance.
That is what faith is like,
                       one’s own tongue
against someone else’s teeth.
Uncountable, each perfectly molded.
The drug deal I’ve been observing
                                        is concluded.
The young men have driven away.
What I thought was a black dog
        curled at one’s feet
was a backpack with a gun in it.
Sing, razor wire in the cross-thermal.
Sing, illusion of a private faith.
You can see the world from here.
                  It is perfect in every respect.
Now, climb down.  I am watching.

More: Poetry
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández declared that the Vatican will only validate reports of Marian apparitions in “exceptional” cases that incur the special interest of the pope.
A Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinJuly 17, 2024
The 58-year-old Portuguese Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça is widely recognized not only as a poet but also as one of the leading intellectuals of the Roman Curia.
Gerard O’ConnellJuly 17, 2024
Former President Donald Trump appears with vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance during the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
At one time, the presence of Catholics on both major-party tickets would have been cause for celebration. But now Mr. Vance and Mr. Biden reflect the political divisions among U.S. Catholics.