the prayers of crickets (or a
novel about two priests in
by maw shein win
the candor of cancer
the tropic of handsome
the caresses of beasts
through the winding dawn
one needs prayer beads
in the
ache of
the other threads faith
into his cassock
darns his socks
with the same thread
at night they find
other beasts to save
one by one,
the jeweled lizards
the brilliant organs
the lonely priests
walk slowly
under the lamplight
through the winding dawn
somewhere:
the hummingbirds of navarro
the umbrellas of suriname
the glory of pigs
the rug burns of harry
the prayers of crickets
(Originally published in Hogtown Creek Review, Issue 5)