Poem celebrating the launch of the Fish Anthology by Ken Taylor, winner of the Fish Publishing Poetry Prize 2011

in st brendan's church, bantry



the collar of christ is not mock

incantation but gothic & round

with nimbus behind coming off

as the lid of a shell so he has

the bearing of heroic oyster or

even pearl with steely eyes to

meet the mouth that will take

him in: grim push toward or

rebuttal of transubstantiation.

then it’s an oyster disguise as

he rises from canonical camo,

right hand in nonchalance,

aimed loosely at heaven. is

this my struggle or intention

of the stained-glass maker who

crafted a righteous sword stare

or the happenstance of sand

becoming both lucent, colored

glass & trope of grain of sand

becoming pearl becoming savior.

his stare goes over my head

through parallel stained window,

past wolf tone square as if call

to the halal falafel shop across

the street, with no customers –

the owner’s head bowed to allah.