Water stands like
a lake in my eyes
shining, miraculous as
the elbow of God, In the hug
of my family's history
stalled horses stomp
in my chest's dry garden
tales spin off my tongue
in sorry amends imagination
flickers, a city far off.
I grew up watching preachers
slap their thighs in emphasis.
Disillusioned under the weight
of sermons, words that could crack
the world's fragile plaster.
Women's heads turned
under irreverent hats
caught in the glare of riotous light.
I shiver in the weak moonlight.
and remember a night
years ago, when I was certain
I heard footsteps below my
bedroom window,
as if someone meant
to do me harm before
I could wrestle myself to sleep
I wished I could stop breathing
till the threat was gone,
My heart thumping against
the black lid of night.
With the trash safely
stored at the curbside,
the top on the plastic can
fastened down tight to hide
my secrets, I'm back inside the house.
I remember to turn
off the lights, check
the locks, set the alarm.
And when finally I lay me down
My dreams stomp across America
garbage documenting
my place in the world, the
scabs of my prayers
trembling in the wind