The Vanity of Faith – a poem by Ulrica Hume

The Vanity of Faith

The vanity of faith
in a universe measured 
by light years
black holes
by infinite, shapeshifting views.

Easy to lose oneself in such a place.

Sing, if you must,
a song of sweet fears
your hallelujahs dissolving
as snowflakes on tongue.
Sing of broken cathedrals.
My hand on the sleeve of 
your coat hiding the rift 
in our gratitude.

Beware the distances yet crossed.
The stuttered flight,
path petered out.
Fix on stars in their sapphire wake.
The snake, bright and 
sinless in the grass.

Ulrica Hume is the author of An Uncertain Age, a spiritual mystery novel, and House of Miracles, a collection of stories, one of which was selected by PEN and broadcast on NPR. Her work appears online (EcoTheo, RIC Journal, Short Édition, etc.), in literary journals (Firmament), and in anthologies. She is a labyrinth guide.