Speculation on the Absent God
As if abandoned
To a plague,
The church
Under restoration
Is as yet unrestored:
Awl-marks
Score the plaster,
Spray-painted tags
Mar the stone façade,
The scaffolding’s
Aluminum pipes
And planks—
Rickety, vacated—
Are off-square, at a slant.
Kids play kick-the-can
With a dented censer.
With each kick
A perfume of cinders.
