Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior.
(First Reading)

Bluegrass
Hints of honeysuckle
in the air

a skunk’s slow progress
told by the trembling
of tassel grass and
pokeweed

an indigo bunting
feeding on seeding
thistle

both silk—the thistle
white
the bird electric blue

the swell of corn fields

pilings of clouds with
the sun breaking through

as Hans Christian Andersen
said on his deathbed

 “Oh God, I could kiss you”

J. Janda