OUTSIDE THE ABUNDANT LIFE CHAPEL

[Published in Poetry Quarterly, Spring 2012]

OUTSIDE THE ABUNDANT LIFE CHAPEL


The congregants were rocking
in the spirit of the Lord
in the Abundant Life Chapel.

The Holy Ghost thudded out on the bass;
the Spirit thumped its saving grace,
out to the sidewalk
for all who have ears to hear.

And this poor sinner, passing by,
stopped, and was cleansed
in the sound waves of Glory,

before continuing down the road
to the meetinghouse
where the Quakers sat in worship,
silence slipping out to the street.

And the Spirit was there, too,
walking quietly in the morning Light.