Looking down a pilgrim-road

Once a grade-school boy
Waiting for life
to find him in
my mother’s kitchen
“You know, your father
needs your help
out-back,” she said.
He tripped
Down the porch steps
Toward the growling
Garage.

===========

Sometimes
In those days
On a morning
It was his turn to acolyte
He listened to the birds
As I walked down the alley
Toward the side-street
To the church

============

Children’s chapel
Bite the apple
Cain and Able-bodied
Fix the candles
Any angle
Age, school birthday rangle

============

Gabe shuffles the cards
“One hand and then our lesson.”
Patty’s photos
Of
white-walled
Churches against the blue, blue
Sky
Who lights the candle
“Who
Brought
the powdered
doughnuts?”

=============

White Lake sun
Clear thru to the bottom
Cut
the cards
again
Waffles and eggs
Carawinds begs
To float or ride
upward

=============

Ann is here
Catalina there
Gabe is on the call
Bo steps up
To
For
Ryan
Raleigh
Quovanda
MacKenzie
Jessica
Graham
Ryan
Grayson
Whitt
Auriel
Shannon

===========

Movin’ up
Slip and sliding
Acolyting
Still calls
Down the hall
Donna
Becky
Michael
Gregg
To play
To pray
To ask
To beg

===========

And
Now
The
North
Country
Deeper
Into
Where
We’ve
Been
And
Then
Some
He
Had
Seen

===========

On the road ahead
The pilgrims carry
The load
Within
On
Their
Way
Out
Of
Where
They’ve
Been

==========

Amen