cubits for dollars

[Buffalo Head '75]

dust bunnies overtook
the once fertive ground
of this abandoned church

pews peal reveal their essence
in the faces of the Saints
locked in those stained glass windows
that watch the alley
where I once peed.

rich people take holy
wafers that could feed
the hungry and swig
them down with holy wine
that could support the addiction
of someone who gets fucked
from time to time.

blind eyes turned browned pages
of a book that had less relevance
in its time than a holy ghost
under a plume of white smoke
decreed just a few years ago.

kneel people and prey
keep us free of
locusts, plague and disease
resurrect yourselfs
and carry the word
of one man who never spoke
to anyone in this hollow building


build the framework
cubit by cubit
and let the waters rise up
and float this arc
past the monolyths
built by the biggest
donators to the spirit
of poverty

do we still care?
if so then why do we listen?
don't we know better?