When academia tells me only a fool believes in a God that he can’t see

I draw them in from a crowded street with a wink

                                              & an eye toward the big guy’s

wallet.   I sink into myself

                                              into my spot            behind the cardboard box       

dropped— just here, a prop.                    Keep your eyes on the Ace      

                                              of hearts.                Not the ping ponging pair

of clubs.   Watch

                                              the watch.   Just my white gold

watch   not the wrists

                                              flickering   windshield wipers

shuffling   gloved hands 

                                              not this hand over hand watch

we keep over one another’s

                                              peach sunsets    one’s palm trees

& green leaves   one’s narcotic happiness or

                                                             holiness   when the heart

of the matter           is the magic

                                              is me.

“When academia tells me only a fool believes in a God that he can’t see” first appeared in 32 Poems.