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the priest
or boy
or girl
the priest said
I’m more interested in the
fortune teller than
the fortune

the crowd said it clicked for them
all of a sudden
they could see and lord it is
so beautiful
they said back to the priest
him
her
the priest

he
she
took jewels and horns
scalps and visions
in the bronze collection plate

the priest said
he
she
the priest said
not to see it cruel
but a bleeding field
rich with bounty and beauty

and to nobody
the choir answered
lord nothing seems real to me
amen
but what I see
isn’t that enough
for him
her

if one listened just right
the sound of
beauty parlors
a man beneath glass
low hums
screams
cries
of pure joy
could be heard