Dieties

 

Christ provides Moses with planes, tanks, helicopters and bombs

in exchange for his friendship and the use of the Holy Land

 

Mohammed boards a bus, sits down next to a woman with groceries

dynamiting himself and all the passengers into the Promised Land

 

Buddha says to hell with what Christ thinks

as he begins to build his own nuclear arsenal again

 

Confucius decides he will be the next deity

to be launched into space

 

Vishnu hunts down Ganesha in the jungle

kills him and cuts out his tusks to be sold on the black market

 

Mohammed knows as long as he controls the oil

all other deities are mere mortals

 

Moses takes aim at Mohammed’s children

armed with stones

 

Brahma blows up one of his nuclear bombs to threaten Mohammed

so Mohammed blows up one of his own to threaten Brahma

 

Lao Tzu continues to re-educate ethnic minorities

converting them with new and age old torture techniques

 

Christ with honor and pride

stands strong saluting the flag

 

The Circle Within the Circle

 

Walking the Milwaukee River corridor

cold in the middle of winter

quiet in the middle of the city

I come to find a small abandoned shelter

built by hands

logs layered together to fit

mud plastered shingled sides of dead plants

sealed strong enough to shed wind

on the side a small semi-circle entrance

you must crawl through

to get inside

 

Getting down on my hands and knees I peer in

Low arch of natural dome

Warmer inside than out

Dry sheltered ground

pieces of wood to sit on encircle the wall

the ritual positioning of people

around the outside of the circle

with open space across the center

 

Looking closer at the center

I see a small gentle shape

circled in dried summer grass

where a coyote

bedded down for the night

long after everyone was gone