The kingdom of heaven is
Lydia and me, sitting on that stoop
Hunched over crispy pepperoni pizza
Hot oil dripping down my chin
Crack, crack, crack, the sky splits
Once a sound safe on TV
Plays out for us in a blink
And the block empties
Panicked fumbling for keys
The door unlocks, we stumble in
Our safe illusions shattered
What kingdom is this? What heaven?
Lydia is eighteen
Straight from Ohio
Marysville precisely
Did the sky shatter there too?
What king could look at our block
And let it remain? What king?
Is he blind? Or deaf? Maybe asleep?
Will the crack, crack, crack wake him?
Sep 6, 2020