Altar - Fred Thomas

The fall colors came the same in 2013

As any other year that we had ever seen

But the entire town felt like an altar then

Those nights were spent

Digesting the ashes of a dead friend

Putting barricades in place

Cultivating contradictions

Drinking whispers

And everybody knew, without even speaking

Before it happens, you recognize a pattern

My skin stayed soft like cake

The roads were unpaved

And no one was actually saved at all

But every attempt was made to hold onto that dislocatingmagic

And the sadness flattened every last thing

In a lasting, manic gush

There wasn’t much I could have said or done

Short of upending the afterworld completely

Walking through those days like a rabbit in a minefield

You can’t feel the damage 'til after it happens

Everybody knew without even speaking

It was wordless leaf fire smoke

Murderous green bile choke

And a sick, sullen floating

The fall colors came again

And a pair of plastic fangs joined some dreams in the drain

They told me, «better days are on their way.»

Uh-huh

The fall colors came containing unnameable flames

It’s amazing that everybody stayed exactly the same

Standing in the center at the altar