Michael Henry
The First Crusade
They told me God was like the light
that walked through panes of glass. They said
prayers blew across the ethereal plain
and faith had the power to move a mountain.
God was classified in their house.
How they fought against the disbelief
that etched a shadow on my small boy’s face.
They tried to drag me to their mountain
and starve my apostasy out
with gruel and soapy water by the glass.
I watched the light play snakes and ladders
with the shadow until they shut it out
with clerical plain black curtains
and listened to their prayers where family came first.
that walked through panes of glass. They said
prayers blew across the ethereal plain
and faith had the power to move a mountain.
God was classified in their house.
How they fought against the disbelief
that etched a shadow on my small boy’s face.
They tried to drag me to their mountain
and starve my apostasy out
with gruel and soapy water by the glass.
I watched the light play snakes and ladders
with the shadow until they shut it out
with clerical plain black curtains
and listened to their prayers where family came first.
Page(s) 19
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