Someone said once that God lives on

Abstract

Someone said once that God lives on Michael Pittard (bio) the other side of the lake.It might be so. I've heardif you gather leaves to seton fire & breathe the smoke,God will emerge from behinda holly tree & answer three questions. Such as why do I have to burnthings to have a conversationwith Him. Or why I can't seemto ever find a comfortable pairof socks. Or why can't I pincha raindrop between my thumb& forefinger to squeeze it & seethe world clearly, only for a moment,& know what my future holds. I've never been to the other sideof the lake. The bridge is almostalways out & it's too far to swim.A man from town once waded out,his pockets filled with rocks.His glasses washed up a few dayslater & when I put them on,the view through the cracked lenseshurt so much I threw them back intothe water where they sankwithout so much as a ripple. [End Page 75] Underneath the tree roots Godslinks about as a black snake,warming Himself in the afternoonsun & slowly digesting mice. Ormaybe He's a starling, His wingsshimmering from a high branch.I suppose He watches those whocome to talk, sees their hesitations,the match trembling in their hands. [End Page 76] Michael Pittard Michael Pittard is an English lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He currently serves as the Book Recommendations editor for The Bookends Review. He has an MFA in Poetry from UNCG and is a former poetry editor of The Greensboro Review. His poetry has appeared in such places as Poetry South, Coffin Bell, and The Citron Review. Copyright © 2022 Berea College ...