anyone with sense is afraid
of the ocean
even those who haven’t seen it
only heard a man walk on water
sure, anyone with science knows
the soul is located in the stomach
tonight we eat, tonight we wet,
tonight we excise our small
intestines as sacrament
sure, we swarm the grocery store
after each new cataclysmic prediction
make tape of our hair, tear eveningwear
into bandages, stockpile canned pears & marinara
sure, we’ll take any god’s dyspeptic medicine
if it means penance against bedlam
any good séance begins with a blood moon
any act of severance requires immunity
tonight, the sky is a belt of crows
& the trees are mean with grackles
the tv heralds terror microbes
after a man transported an ancient disease
across the globe in the vial of his body
panic is the god who keeps
the ships at bay for forty days
who opens his mouth
& out spills an orange