Bird’s Baptism
2025
In a sanctuary
that seats 600 for mass,
fourteen people gather
for my Buddhist son
as the priest’s dog
Tucker, wanders
A simple table in front
of the altar—white cloth,
hand-thrown bowl
of holy water
Three times Father Simon
dips his hand,
blesses my son’s bowed head
After, I ask Bird
who understands
nothing is separate
how he reconciles the doctrine
of God the Father
He replies with light-filled eyes
meditating
and a little twist of mind
Amrita Skye Blaine develops themes of impermanence, disability, and awakening. In 2003, she received an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, and in 2024, a PocketMFA in poetry. Two collections came out last spring, every riven thing from Finishing Line Press, and strange grace–the ending season from Berkana Publications. She has been published in fourteen poetry anthologies, numerous literary magazines, and is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee.
Amethyst Review 