Monday, July 21, 2014

Alysse Kathleen McCanna: Chicago


Chicago

He took a vow of
silence, chastity;
then the fall of man
to ecstasy: wine.

My father, the atheist,
likes a good scotch
after work, and steak
medium-rare, and eggs
over-easy.

Too much theology
can drive a man from God,
from brothers, to the ends
of the earth. Or at least
to Chicago.

I was brought up to trust
my heart and not a book;
my gut and not a preacher;
my strength and luck and
not someone’s benediction;

but on Thanksgiving
and Christmas
my father, the atheist,
still blesses the wine.



Alysse Kathleen McCanna was born and raised in the Midwest. She graduated from Smith College in 2007 and now lives between the mountains and the plains in sunny Colorada

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