God is permitted to exist
in poetry. God is immanence.
God is the language. God is Jesus,
who is pure dispossession.
Poetry is the streets
even when its about the peonies.
Poetry is the haunch of the beast.
Poetry is the last synapse firing off
from the prisoner’s brain like a rusted piston
as his heart bursts after
a lethal dose of potassium chloride...
The ants elegantly dance
in tune, but they are not permitted
to live alongside us like a dog or cat
or even the tedious parakeet.
The cicatrix in the corner
of the kitchen from where they crawl
will never close like the bark
of the Grand Fir. The sardine’s soft
bones, bathed in olive oil,
lodge between the clefts in your teeth,
as the choir thunders: in excelsis Deo,
in excelsis Deo.
Andrew Rader Hanson is a poet and photographer, who lives in South Florida. In his free time, he lifts weights, hikes, learns new languages, and reads widely. His work has been published by Spectrum Literary Journal, Pembroke Magazine, The Hong Kong Review and more. He was also selected as a finalist for the Key West Literary
Seminar’s Scotti Merril Poetry Award.
Rough Diamond Poetry 