April 29 (still a day ahead because who knows what tomorrow will bring
)
Gabriel, for God's Sake Blow Your Horn:
or
Understanding Divine Intervention
Why is there almost universal agreement
that angels are beautiful and kind:
that they save, refine, enlighten
individuals by sheltering them from evil?
How explain the dust devil that whirls
discarded burger wrappers, burnt-out butts,
plastic bags into stunned faces
or the specter of an animal carcass,
eyeless sockets accusing, caught in the snarl
and rust of abandoned barbed wire
or the angry challenge hurled by a man,
from a morning doorway,
filthy, urine-stained, hair matted
beset by delirium tremens
or the border guard who believes he
is saving America as he lifts a terrified
two-year-old from her mother's arms?