In the beginning there is only a milkweed plant
and wind
I used to believe in Heaven, or something like,
and I still love
the Sunday School girl who sits still
on a wooden chair
She wears a striped dress with a wide skirt
that just covers her knees,
white socks, patent leather shoes
that buckle
She believes she is watched
over
and that one day
she will know everything
In the beginning, they said, there was darkness
and light
What if there is no judgment, no reward, only
what I’ve done
what I’ve left
undone
What if, at the end, there are only milkweed seeds
and wind—
tarmac, scorched earth, a few patches
of good dirt