Religion

those purple
mardi gras beads
laid upon the green felt,
I bet you are, and then
her knee hit me under the
table, unsure of the ante,

she cut the deck,
the game changed,

out into the meadow
we walked, we started
carding sheep, can't pull
the wool over their eyes, I
bet I am,

confession higher
in the woods we walked,
pines and aspens the ax never
threatened, conversion the term
foresters use for management practice,

transforming woodland
from one type of timber to
another, this isn't intended
to be just an aspen area, an
indigo bunting cheerfully answered,

those purple
mardi gras beads
laid upon the green felt
I am, and then her knee hit
me under the table sure of the bet,

we played for the next two hours,

I looked at a set
of six graceful ladderback
chairs, the chairmaker duties
as a pastor, everyone turns just
a little different on the lathe, the posts
left green, rungs are dried, removing the
rough outer bark, in summer the strips come
loose more easily, but in winter you get better
bark, it doesn't shrink.

religion.

Copyright 2010 Ms. Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist