At the intersection

At the intersection of futility and rage
hangs a monument to discord,
its anthem the harsh horn punctuated
by arguments, epithets, and gunshots.
It is not rooted in earth or tarmac,
not rendered in stone or broken glass.
You will breathe it unknowing in air
hung heavy with pollutants
dampened but never washed clean
by rain that falls like a lament
and rises like grief, the ghost
of a sigh murmuring beneath
the breath of the street preacher:
Vanity; all is vanity.

About Rosalind C Hughes

Rosalind C Hughes is an Episcopal priest, poet, and author living near the shores of Lake Erie. After growing up in England and Wales, and living briefly in Singapore, she is now settled in Ohio. Rosalind is the author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing , and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence, both from Upper Room Books. She loves the lake, misses the ocean, and is finally coming to terms with snow.

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