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Swing Low Sweet Grocery Cart

an angel transposes II Kings 2 into the 21st century

When Elijah & Elisha   
crossed all eight lanes of the hectic 410   
every Toyota & tractor-trailer   in full trajectory
along the highway was flash frozen  
as in a still photograph   after Elijah’d struck
the pavement with his rolled-up jacket

When the roar of traffic
resumed behind them   Elisha turned & saw fifty men
on the opposite slope   like parents
faithfully watching a playoff game  

Suddenly a whirlwind of flame  
like the cartoon Tasmanian devil   came
between them   like a shimmering grocery cart  
pulled by heavenly horses   Elisha let out a cry  
& Elijah was taken up   more swiftly
than fighter jets can fly

Then Elisha struck the pavement   & once again  
crossed all eight lanes of the busy 410  
receiving the fifty prophets’ esteem  
though they didn’t quite get   what they’d just seen

D.S. Martin is poet-in-residence at McMaster Divinity College and series editor for the Poiema Poetry Series from Cascade Books. His poetry collections include Ampersand (2018) and Conspiracy of Light (2013).

Issue 19 >