Mercy! Charity! Faith! Holy!
By Patrick T. Reardon
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Holy the lone juggernaut! Holy the vast lamb of
the middleclass! Holy the crazy shepherds of rebellion!
— Allen Ginsberg, “Footnote to ‘Howl’ ”
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Answers are demanded of too many questions.
.
Write the vision, plain as a tabletop,
carved into barroom wood.
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Vision has a time appointed,
presses on, will not lie. Wait for it.
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Let go, ungrasp.
Let go, free.
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Promissory note, hope.
The structure of bread.
A new moon over Highway 77.
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Reptile, ogre, jackal, mud
— pure as any other thing.
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Singer-king leapt and whirled
and claimed his loot, sinner
that he knew himself to be and prophet.
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Wisdom is queen.
.
Patrick T. Reardon
6.29.23
This poem was originally published in Burningword Literary Journal, January, 2023.
This poem will appear in my forthcoming book Salt of the Earth: Doubts and Faith from Kelsay Books.
Written by : Patrick T. Reardon
For more than three decades Patrick T. Reardon was an urban affairs writer, a feature writer, a columnist, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune. In 2000 he was one of a team of 50 staff members who won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Now a freelance writer and poet, he has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of Faith Stripped to Its Essence. His website is https://patricktreardon.com/.