This is too big to fit
into a poem,
and far too messy.
I can write about the bird
that hit the window,
the thump,
the red smudge
upon the glass,
the battered wing...
but this is too enormous
for the mind to hold,
too sharp-edged
for the heart.
I only know I'm not a fan
of flags or teams,
of that which tricks us to
believe we are not relatives,
each one of us
as capable of hatred
as of mercy.
I am not a huge fan
of scripture either.
I've seen it twisted
in cruel shapes.
I wonder
if God really
watched this sparrow fall.
-- Deb Cooper