The Sky is Marvelous

The sky is marvelous beyond

the striping lines of electrical wires

strung between uprooted, naked trees

like those skies out west 

that I danced naked under, took cold showers under,

let my hair whip in the wind under

The colors blur beyond my tears

I want to ask god for guidance

but I can’t trust a god who’d give me a heart like this

let it get crushed under the guise of love

Can’t trust a god who says he formed me

by hand, and won’t answer a single whispered prayer

This god of my childhood has only ever been

the kind to trick a child until they cry


I cry, no god answers


I’ve touched holy dirt and holy water, brought it to my heart, said

let this transform me, I want to be transformed

But it’s the common and vulgar that feels most sacred

An Italian man pours wine for me, tells me

do whatever the fuck you want

My breath catches like I might come

as I plunge into an ice cold mountain lake

I lock eyes with the golden glare of a 

disdainful coyote, feel seen, feel clean

Don’t think I haven’t sat in a pew long enough

to understand


I cry, no god answers

But the sky is marvelous