If you have ever read an autobiography
of an Angel you know
they first kiss every page, then let
them float bound with white hair
in the morning mist of sunshine
until they drop
into the mailbox of God.
If God rejects the submission
(for he gets far more
than he can possibly publish)
he summons a raven
to collect the words - the small
symbols for mankind to decipher - and ties
them to a black feathered back
with golden string made from
stolen ingots confiscated from wall street
embezzlers and big business
brokers. Then the raven swoops down
to earth and drops the manuscript
at a bus stop, or train depot,
or alley way in Brooklyn to watch
the words blow like wind waves
of everyday lives.
Tyler Farrell has published poems, essays, and reviews in many periodicals, and a biographical essay for James Liddy's Selected Poems (Arlen House, 2011). He teaches writing and literature at Marquette University and currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife, Joan and their two sons. His first collection of poems Tethered to the Earth (Salmon Poetry, 2008) is available from the publisher. A new poetry collection is forthcoming from Salmon in 2012 entitled The Land of Give and Take.
