Lee Bains Iii & The Glory Fires Tongues Of Flame!
All
The learners' permit scholars
Found her so provincial
We
The private-school rebels
Figured her for a narc
But that fall morning when a small girl, eyes black
And wide and searching
(Tongues of flame!)
Appeared in the corner of the classroom, her
Forehead furrowed, like stirred coffee
(Tongues of flame!)
Who but we buried our heads in grammar lessons
And radical notebook scribbles?
(Tongues of flame!)
Who flipped her hair and approached, thick with
Shelby County syrup: Encantada. ¿Cómo esta?
He walks
Through the needling rays of the
Summer noontime
Neck craned to the horizon
Sidewalks crumble
Under his shuffling feet
His sign reads:
REPARATIONS NOW!
In the cool of a distant spring morning
He will pad in front of me
Speaking softly in winding sentences
(Tongues of flame!)
Among his altars and spires of broken objects
On which weeds and water do their work
(Tongues of flame!)
And, trailing off
He will rest his hand on my shoulder
And point at the passing breeze
(Tongues of flame!)
And whisper, “Listen
Listen as the Lord passes by.”
The
Collar, pinched tight around
The rolls of my neck
The wood
Hard, unforgiving
Against my flat back:
We are squirming in the stillness of a strange room
(Tongues of flame!)
In the muted Highland Avenue traffic sits a huge white scroll
(Tongues of flame!)
Gone is the crooked nervous grin of our boy. His voice stumbles
(Tongues of flame!)
Then falls into a rhythm, wide and deep and sweet. They say this is to become a man
(Tongues of flame!)
Sweet old Ms. Noles sprung up like a piston
(Tongues of flame!)
Her brown wrinkled face, nestled in a huge white hat, pointed to the heavens
(Tongues of flame!)
Her open mouth sending forth a rolling stream of secret words
(Tongues of flame!)
Her tiny rocking body haloed by the gentle hands of stone-faced men
(Tongues of flame!)
And the drums and organ kick in, and the choir lifts its voice
(Tongues of flame!)
And I, feeling faint, fall into the arms of an old familiar song
(Tongues of flame!)