Tonight's Poet Corner: Our Five AM Mass

Our Five AM Mass
by Belinda Roddie

The lights are still on in the church
when the sun comes up, and if you look
through the stained glass windows, you
can see the halos shining from the head
of every flower child swaying to
the hypnotizing trill of the choir. Glasses

of sacramental wine, unblessed, are served
to anyone who wants to taste the facade
of redemption. In the corner, two men wearing
lipstick kiss while counting their rosaries.
The odor of the incense mingles
with the perfume worn by the priest.

There is God in this holy house still, and he
is the one at the organ. His fingers light
up with each skip across the keys. He dances,
and his robes catch the colors like a prism and
reflect them back into space, which is big

and grand and all knowing, all loving,
all enveloping,
all.