Poem: Altar

Upon it, a pewter mug
With pens, owned
by the late Susanne Collier,

a ballerina who taught Othello
at Cal State Northridge.
There are no candles

on this altar. The light
comes from a wire-and-gold-
painted-tinfoil surfer,

made by my daughter
in the second grade.
There’s a coffee mug

with a broken handle,
stuffed with watercolor
brushes wielded by

my late Aunt Frances
in her Orland studio.
No acacia wood

or stone was required;
no tabernacle to carry
it through the wilderness.

There are no prayers
uttered at this altar.
These objects speak

through their substance.
Whatever intercession
that occurs is accidental.

This poem originally appeared in Atmospheric Rivers (2023)