If I became devout, I'd be driven by acts of heroism

by Daisy Bassen

​I am thankful
Not to have had a revelation
Of the most profound faith,
A critical redefinition of the world,
Of every road cresting a hill,
Every window cut into a stone wall.
Every time our daughter turns
Her face to me and I know
I love her best.

I am thankful there is nothing
That divides us, that takes you from me
More clearly than an ocean, unskimmed
Even by gulls. If I wake you in the night,
You will understand my fear.

There is nothing to console us, we agree.
We sleep easily, without prayers for the day.
We needn’t judge our prayer for a day,
Addressing ourselves to our animal selves,
Our desire to hold, for a dream we direct,
Whose seams we close without knots.

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