SKYLIGHT

SKYLIGHT

You were the one for skylights. I opposed Cutting into the seasoned tongue-and-groove Of pitch pine. I liked it low and closed, Its claustrophobic, nest-up-in-the-roof Effect. I liked the snuff-dry feeling, The perfect, trunk-lid fit of the old ceiling. Under there,...
My Trumpetry

My Trumpetry

From all my lame defeats and oh much more From all the victories that I seemed to score; From cleverness shot forth on thy behalf At which, while angels weep, the audience laugh; From all my proofs of thy divinity, Thou, who wouldst give no sign, deliver me.  ...
Held Fast

Held Fast

I threaten’d to observe the strict decree     Of my dear God with all my power and might;     But I was told by one it could not be; Yet I might trust in God to be my light. “Then will I trust,” said I, “in Him alone.”     “Nay,...
God’s a Phone, Maybe

God’s a Phone, Maybe

…say God’s a phone, maybe. You know you didn’t order a phone, but there it is. It rings. You don’t know who it could be. You don’t want to talk, so you pull out the plug. It rings. You smash it with a hammer till it bleeds springs and...
Scaffolding

Scaffolding

Masons, when they start upon a building, Are careful to test out the scaffolding;   Make sure that the planks won’t slip at busy joints,   Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.   And yet all this comes down when the job’s done Showing off walls of...