I keep thinking;
These fleeing, mournful, frightened creatures-
These are the true homeless climate refugees.‬

‪I keep thinking‬; ‪
Nature will return. Nature is
bigger than this moment. ‬

I keep thinking;
This is how life ends?
With humans who only lend a hand that results in power?
With humans who refuse their neighbors’ pale of water
because someone hurt their feelings?

I keep thinking; ‪
We have lost our Mother’s trust.
Our eyes will not see the beauty of
her children’s resurrection.

‪I keep thinking; ‬ ‪
There is no confessional for this sin.

I keep thinking;
If there were a booth to hide in, if there were
an accepted ‘man in a dress’ alive to listen,
it would be a ritual the next lineage term “archaic mythology.”

I keep thinking;
Until we are all over,
our church will soon, and again,
be engulfed in flames.

__

Photo of Notre Dame 2019 fire, by Nivenn Lanos on Unsplash.