Initiation

by Eric Machan Howd

new dirt gathers between the pews
and the Sunday School shakes
its buckets in a noisy offering
to replace the building’s rotting doors

the field beside the sanctuary is wet 
with winter’s thaw and tire tracks 
mold the dirt and mark where trucks 
sank under the heavy loads of new gravel

it’s that time of year again
for the parishioners
to raise the cross 
on the side of the road

the men choose one boy
to break the ground with spade
and pose with them for the annual
church newsletter picture

the boy chosen asks his parents to explain 
how doors are replaced, why buildings fall 
apart and decay and what he should do 
when his moment comes

yesterday’s rain makes tiny lakes
in the ruts near the edge of the field 
where, come Sunday, colored eggs
will be hidden for all the children

but for today, the cross needs 
bearing and someone must
drive the tool into the earth
to make way for resurrection

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Eric Machan Howd (Ithaca, NY) is a poet, musician, and educator. His fifth collection of poetry, Universal Monsters, was published by The Orchard Street Press in 2021. He is currently working on an erasure project using a work by author H.P. Lovecraft.