Issue III Archive

Sierra Nelson

In the Church of San Carlo

As easy as a swarm of bees
Infesting the nook of your crazy geometry,
White on white, light lingers in the coffers.

What have you come here for?
The blessings of a saint’s kerchief,
As easy as a swarm of bees,

Or to hide in a church
No bigger than a pillar,
Infesting the nook of your crazy geometry?

White bowls of water
Are left out for cats and martyrs.
White on white, light lingers,

And even the façade sways.
A wingbone encased in stone
Flutters like a saint’s kerchief,

Yet here you are, still waiting.
A blessing of bees infests
The carving of a pillar,

The nook of your mind,
The empty bowl of a coffer.
A cross-section of martyr eases

White on white from pure geometry,
But you are wooden, an empty
Prayer, a hidden swarm.

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