Reading the Bible Backwards
All around the altar, huge lianas
curled, unfurled the dark green
of their leaves to complement the red
of blood spilled there — a kind of Christmas
decoration, overhung with heavy vines
and over them, the stars.
When the angels came, messengers like birds
but with the oiled flesh of men, they hung
over the scene with smoldering swords,
splashing the world when they beat