This is Jesus Country
Meaning: here
be churches. Meaning:
here crosses
kiss the ground
around the square. Like
tulips or small
tornadoes, they
break earth. The sky
inspires religious
feeling, instills
a kind of awe.
To be awesome
means to be holy
& terrible, to make
even unbelievers
tremble. When
the plumber
my husband called
tells us to
have a blessed
day, I laugh, but
later, when
I go outside to check
the mail, I realize
I have been working
to keep my hands
still.
PATRICK KINDIG is assistant professor of English at Tarleton State University. He is the author of the chapbook all the catholic gods (Seven Kitchens Press 2019) and the micro-chapbook Dry Spell (Porkbelly Press 2016) as well as the academic monograph Fascination: Trance, Enchantment, and American Modernity (Louisiana State University Press 2022). His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in the American Poetry Review, the Cincinnati Review, Colorado Review, Washington Square Review, Copper Nickel, and other journals.
Recommended
The Shirt
After Hearing David Rothenberg Sang with Birds
Frothing Pink Poodle Droppings