By: Raymond Hammond
for Andy Dale
i don’t want to lose religion
the bells, whistles, swinging smoking
censers, the full organ music,
the rising voices of a choir,
the pomp, the circumstance, the smell
of a new bible, india paper
and leather, the image of light
beaming through, in early morning,
the ornately stained glass windows,
the clang of the communion trays
as they are being handed out
to deacons to hand out to us
i even want to keep the stale
bread and the blood that is grape juice
i want to keep the cathedrals,
the relics, the pieta, the sistine
chapel, rosaries, yamakas,
the chiesa di san michele
in savoca because it’s old
and the frescoes are beautiful,
the long green lawns, the steepled spires
rising above every town’s
buildings and trees drawing eyes
ever heavenward, i want to keep
all those things that were built on backs
of peasant believers their faith
bled like turnips to build gilded, golden
temples out of comfort and fear
i don’t want to lose religion
i want to maintain mystery
childlike wonder, mystical awe,
but deny blind faith, helplessness,
being the victim, and living
in unquestioning manmade fear
i want to honor those peasants,
who built traditions and buildings
that helped cement society
together the best they knew how,
i want to honor those peasants,
with an understanding of faith
that is infinitely as big
as an old universe within
Raymond P. Hammond is the editor-in-chief of both The New York Quarterly and NYQ Books. He holds an MA in English Literature from New York University and is the author of Poetic Amusement, a book of literary criticism. He lives near Scranton, PA with his wife, the poet Amanda J. Bradley, and their dog Hank.