Ed Shacklee
Faith
The crow did not come back,
and Noah, in a crush of paired beasts,
turned to the dove, the peace bringer,
let it go;
the myriad reduced to doubles,
the ship shrunk to a pistachio shell,
the sullen, swollen sea so pearly grey,
so silent.
Now that is faith, said the rats,
their eyes like black bits of diamond
in the bilge; to believe there are only
two of us.
Bio
Ed Shacklee is a public defender who represents kids in the District of Columbia.