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| Lurii Laiman |
Smaller Gods
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Here on the Oregon Coast,
my spiritual beliefs are birds—
so many species, it’s hard to refrain
from proselytizing the Common Mure,
keep faith in the Tufted Puffin to myself,
resist my urge to convert to Cormorant
the first binoculars I see scanning heaven
and Haystack Rock for the eagle,
shrieking gull in its talons (got me praying,
this morning, I tell you) snatched up,
right in front of me, off the beach.
Our Feather,
That art in heaven.
Says it all.
But leaves room,
I think, for smaller birds.
Bushtits, for example—
entire flock today,
two sky-scattered lines
merging, single swoop,
visual polyphony
into one united prayer
burgeoning the boxwood,
winged kyrielles and,
if birds could be bells,
soft chimes alighting
like grace or graceful gods
who, when they show up,
often appear smaller
than we imagined.
No dogma here—
just feathers fluttering
down softly
in a heavy, human world
the lightness heaven loves—
branch empty,
nothing on it, save waiting.
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| Daniel Skach-Mills |
A 2026 Pushcart Prize nominee, Daniel Skach-Mills’s poetry is forthcoming in The Pensive Journal and Wild Roof Review. His book, The Hut Beneath the Pine: Tea Poems, was a 2012 Oregon Book Award finalist. A former Trappist monk, Daniel lives with his husband in Portland, Oregon, where he served for 15 years as a docent at Lan Su Chinese Garden. He was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in 2024.
Wonderful writing
ReplyDeletePeter: Thank you for your comment. I have enjoyed reading your poetry in "Feed the Holy," as well! Blessings! Daniel
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