Ellie Black
Sodom, Styx, Gomorrah, Mississippi
I turn to you, I turn
to dust, to salt,
so the story goes,
to an empty patch
of air. Or you do
the turning—
where once was
you is now
not you, or simply
less you, the alchemized
lack of you, ashes scattered
thin across the whole
of space-time. Oops.
That upon which I lay eyes
disappears or unravels
entirely—everything
I begin to love. So I stop
beginning to love.
All the love is in the middle now,
suspended like a raindrop
hanging from a branch:
if you get close enough,
you can see everything reflected
upside-down. You know
eventually it’s going to fall and
you can’t stand to watch.
Be Not Afraid
An angel came into my room all like BE NOT AFRAID
The angel was in flickering black-and-white
or in Technicolor depending on the angle
The angel was a giant rabbit six foot three
or actually the angel was just some guy in a coat
The angel was like looking in a mirror
but only out of the corner of your eye at night
The angel said WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON
The angel said I CAN SENSE
THE INTENSITY OF YOUR LONGING YOUR
LOVE THE WEIGHT OF YOUR DEVOTION NOT
TO GOD BUT HUMANITY DOESN’T
IT SUCK I said sure he said LOOK
WE HAVE THE SAME EYES and so
we did numerous and blue the angel said
I’M HERE FOR YOU I said okay but
as in I’m your friend or as in I’m here
to exhort you to abide by the will of God
and we both laughed I said fine
what’s God’s will for me then
He said through a thousandth
mouth I could not see: YOU MUST BE
VERY CAREFUL AND YOU MUST
BE KIND YOU MUST BE AFRAID
YOU MUST NEVER BE AFRAID YOU
MUST BE THE CONDUIT THROUGH WHICH THE WORLD
SEES ITSELF A MIRROR HELD INFINITELY UP
TO ITSELF EVERYONE WILL LOVE YOU NO ONE
WILL LOVE YOU LEARN TO ACCEPT THIS
YOU MUST BE DECORATIVE YOU MUST BE SUBSTANTIAL
YOU MUST BE HYPOTHETICAL YOU MUST BE
FOOLPROOF YOU MUST BE FOOLED YOU
MUST BE SORRY YOU MUST BE SORRY
YOU WILL ENGAGE IN MINOR FORMS
OF PROPHECY AND IT WILL NOT TURN OUT
WELL FOR YOU LEARN TO ACCEPT THIS
YOU WILL BE ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES
OF DESIRE YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED WANT
WANT IS ALL YOU WILL HAVE YOU MUST FORGIVE YOU
MUST NEVER BE FORGIVEN YOU MUST NOT DO
WHAT GOD HAS WILLED FOR YOU
EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH
WILL BE CHANGED AND FORGET YOU
YOU MUST DESTROY YOURSELF
YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE
DESTROYED IT IS FOR THE GOOD
OF MANKIND THAT YOU DO THIS
and I said where will you be
Will you stay with me
I said hello?