Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Greg KennedyFebruary 15, 2024

barter with us breath.
anchor heaven.
elevate Earth.
hold soil in hands
as eloquent as sign language poets.
transubstantiate particles
of sunlight.
welcome winged migrants
without papers, process, status.
cradled Jesus
in a shared embrace of pain,
having died with him
on a hill once thick with forest.
speak in scent.
text in fungi.
laugh in pollen
and seldom stray
from meditation.
wait and shade
and crack
when sorrow is too much to bear.
teach and feed
and wink
when wind tells jokes
through their tittering leaves.
are saints.
are martyrs.
are lightning rods
telling stories through scars
and rings
of exquisite calculus.
are mystics—
just look up
the word
in your fattest dictionary
and you’ll find
its full meaning
printed on their flesh.

The latest from america

This special deep dive episode recaps the 2024 Vatican meeting of the Synod on Synodality, featuring interviews with five synod delegates about the tensions and unexpected breakthroughs in the Synod hall—and outside it.
Inside the VaticanJanuary 30, 2025
Syrians hold a copy of the Quran next to a Christian cross during a demonstration in support of unity among minorities and the ousting of the Bashar Assad government in Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
The rapid victory of the Sunni opposition fighters over regular army units loyal to Mr. al-Assad has left many wondering how Syria’s minority faith groups—Alawites, Christians, Shiites and others—will fare as H.T.S. consolidates its control.
Clotilde BigotJanuary 30, 2025
In order for the United States to remain “a government of laws, not of men,” all officials entrusted with elected authority must recognize the necessity and justice of constraints on their own power.
The EditorsJanuary 30, 2025
It is no secret that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops receives federal grants to assist in refugee resettlement.
Leilani FuentesJanuary 30, 2025