Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Today's Activity: Giving the Clouds Hebrew Names

The priest gave me a towel
to sit on so I wouldn't
burn the pew. If I plug

myself into the wall, I told him,
this whole place will come down
in flickering ashes. I confessed

to digging without purpose,
lifting with my lower back.
My punishment: the uncertainty

of a light switch, the haze
of the underside of the bed.

Fifty more days of winter.

I didn't even tell him
about the thirst for broken

bottles, the constant alarm.
I rub my forehead against the carpet
for forgiveness, resolve to put
the thermostat to rest, to keep cool

like the shell of a cockroach.
If you ask me, the priest
is just afraid of commitment.

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