R.C. Diebold

_______________________________________________

Statues of God

I carve statues

of God with my breath

in the morning

with my palms

in repose

toward the light

in the east

counting beads

on a chain

reading poems

to the dead

I eat salmon

from a tin

like a craftsman

with stained glass

a machinist

when I pray

I collect bones

for my prayers

and stones

from the rivers

I find teeth

in the fields

and feathers

from a hawk

on the wind

I have photos

on my altar

a mandarin candle

a christ on a cross

that glows in the dark

O ignis spiritus

O pesci di vita

O my weeping heart

so I swim

with my body

in water

and I speak

when I sleep

deep and dream

of her scent

of red brick

and her nails

in my neck

in the rain

and her back

arched in pain

so I lay me down

in a field of pitch

and I lay me down

by a fallen oak

and I drink

sweet milk

with shaking hands

while untamed fingers

wash the blonde

untamed fingers

wash the blue

the sweet blue milk

of mystery

the slack white

milk of time

back into me

                                           

Rock Salt Plum Poetry Review                                Spring 2004        

R. C. Diebold grew up in and around Dublin, Ireland and now resides in Northern California. He has been writing prose and poetry for almost 30 years, most recently published in Sonoma Mandala Literary Review, The Wisconsin Review, The Best of The Melic Review - 5th Anniversary Issue, Eon Quarterly and Poems Niederngasse and many other publications. He was a finalist for the 2003 Rita Dove Poetry Award. He supports his writing as an art director in the graphic design industry and is a raptor handler at the Santa Rosa Bird Rescue Center.

Email: rc@leftcoastgraphics.com