Altar and Raft
To build a holy wall of undressed stone, to
raise from random shapes a harmony
pleasing the eye and able to stand against
their own hard weight,
sinners first tumble into a broken heap
that faith converts into an altar
for sacrifice. Fire drops like grace from heaven,
the empty fills,
the voiceless sing: Beloved, gather and build
like sailors stranded on an island
awash at high tide who jury-rig a raft
to save themselves:
bending double at the oars, they chant with mates
they may not like, to save the drowning
they do not know. To build a temple, sweat and
shout hosanna.
J. S. Absher is a poet and independent scholar. His first full-length book of poetry, Mouth Work (St. Andrews University Press) won the 2015 Lena Shull Competition of the NC Poetry Society. His second full-length collection, Skating Rough Ground, was published by Kelsay Press in 2022. Chapbooks are Night Weather (Cynosura, 2010) and The Burial of Anyce Shepherd (Main Street Rag, 2006). He lives in Raleigh, with his wife, Patti. Website: www.jsabsherpoetry.com
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