It’s Not the Holy Spirit
letting up out of an oil-slicked puddle
between the tracks on 9th Ave,
that feathered blur flashing
toward the N–Judah’s windshield.
It’s only a rock dove, tail fan
splayed, pewter wings spread
wide, reversing direction mid-air.
But tell me, what better prayer
than this? The near miss, the heart
shocked awake, that bird rising
over sooted buildings, gated doors.
—Cheryl Dumesnil ’91
From the collection Showtime at the Ministry of Lost Causes (University of Pittsburgh Press), Dumesnil’s most recent book. Her other works: the collection In Praise of Falling and the edited anthology Dorothy Parker’s Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos. We’re delighted this English major comes home to SCU in spring 2018 to give a reading in SCU’s creative writing series.