Against Epiphany
What god was it that would open
earth’s picture book and see the two
of us on a road, snowfields glittering
on every side and poplars bent like
the fingers of an old man clutching
what he loved about the sun?
Which one was it that would peer
into our thatched, white-washed
farmhouse, and see the fur, flies,
and shit-stained walls? Which one
laughed at the barbed wire fences,
the wall topped with broken glass?
Which of the many who came then,
gleaming and rimed in hard sunlight?
Which of those who bobbed like ice
along the winter shore? What did
we have that any god would want?
Quick, if you can find it, hide it.
Copyright Credit: Fred Marchant, “Against Epiphany” from The Looking House. Copyright © 2009 by Fred Marchant. Reprinted by permission of Graywolf Press, www.graywolfpress.org
Source: The Looking House (Graywolf Press, 2009)