Fallen Creed

The mason asks but a narrow shelf to spring his brick from; man requires only an infinitely narrower one to spring his arch of faith from. - Thoreau

with a glowing rictus of serenity

a tarnished crucifix 'round my aching neck

i wander the lonely, redundant sidewalks of a sleepy old mill town

each passerby a living, breathing, divine, human sacrament

each brick a monument to lives spent searching

each steeple praying ascendingly for resolve

at the impending dusk hour

sitting on a cold, steel bench

the spent hymns of ringing ears my choir

in a congregation of one

i hold steadfast and inwardly my opinion

that there is preeminence in capitulating to faith's enigmatic dominion

Author's Note

"If we cannot sing of faith and triumph, we will sing our despair. We will be that kind of bird. There are day owls, and there arenight owls, and each is beautiful and even musical while about its business." - Thoreau