The Inner Part
When they had won the war
And for the first time in history
Americans were the most important people –
When the leading citizens no longer lived in their shirtsleeves,
And their wives did not scratch in public;
Just when they’d stopped saying “Gosh!” –
When their daughters seemed as sensitive
As the tip of a fly rod,
And their sons were as smooth as a V-8 engine –
Priests, examining the entrails of birds,
found the heart misplaced, and seeds
As black as death, emitting a strange odor.
Issue Title:
Faith and Citizenship in Turbulent Times
Issue Year:
2007