Camped by this steeple
I could hold steady in a storm—
sing of lighting, thunder’s song,
shards of rain in a flashlight’s glance,
drum of tears on a plastic tarp,
the strands of night that play the heart.
Camped by this steeple
I could wade the wide illuminated flood,
the dampened pages of your thoughts; and we
shall circumnavigate the clouds to find the stars,
map the universe of grace on unseen charts.
Here, hold this canvas over our heads,
banner called devotion, roof for our hearts.
Come with me, I with you; and we
shall find the poetry in batteries, rings around the moon,
gaps in every bank of fog, the Living through the tomb.
Camped by this steeple
we will hold steady in the storm.
First published in South Carolina Bards: Poetry Anthology 2026, August 2026.