Fallen

Elizabeth Switaj

 

 

I am watching the angels break their skulls

 

They are not the angels

 

                                                come sliding down my door

 

                                                come with claws in maple

 

                                                corpse or something heavier,

 

                                                fire-proof

 

            for when they fall

 

They are not the angels

 

turning heaven into hell

 

                                   but earth into earth & sea

 

                                   into sea capped with plastic

 

I am watching the angels break their skulls

 

by raising wands at angles

 

that catch no light

 

                                   no shadows either

 

                                                                      no song

 

                                                          but the chant of jackboots

 

                                                          & throat-singing cannons

 

will render us immobile

 

They are not the angels

 

turning hell into heaven

 

                                                          We are planting gardens

 

                                                          uncertified     unsanctified

 

                                                                      soil

 

                                                          the angels

 

            by breaking their skulls

 

They are not the angels

 

Come sliding through our doors

 

living on our wings instead of on their feet.

 

 

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