flame-diver

by Allister Nelson

The bird on the wire weighs

fifteen pounds, soaked and bruising,

she’s dowsed in fire retardant, flame-diver

for souls, God sends her to gather

the little lost lamblings, as fennel stalk.

God does not care, how the little bird weeps

how her burden is too much, how the fires beat

her sweat and blood to wicked poison, how the heat

makes her blind, as long as God’s favored souls

are not far behind.

And so, God gets what he wants: his favorite angels

while the mechanisms of us in the flames toil below.

One must keep the fire burning, one must heat the poker.

And one is the flame-diver, dreaming

of snow.

Click here to read Allister’s bio.