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)