Let’s make a little altar here
from the things that we collected
while we walked.
Let’s make a little altar
from the broken sticks,
the colored leaves, the tiny
stones
that pressed between our palms
like everything.
Let’s make a little altar
from the love notes
and the bits of songs
the promises and tears
the handprints on the glass
in the back seat of the car.
Let’s make a little altar
with the shadowbox we made
from torn up paper, old receipts
the endless coffee cups,
the rain.
Let’s make a little altar
from the nursery rhymes and fairy tales
the hangovers and lazy days
the emptiness behind the
captive audience, the rapt and
awed, the onlookers, the fans
the stick figures, the empty heads
the arms that circled close, the
time
the blackness left behind.
Let’s make a little altar, but this time
let’s keep it out
where we can see it
keep the floodlights on
the spotlight keeping lit
all the things that we’ve collected
tucked away
and dusted off
on a holiday like nothing
Let’s make a little altar
from the darkness
left behind.
