congregation

the reflection is silent

the revelation is silent

chimes hung amidst the water roots

the broadcast signals

the parting of the curtain

the start of the trick

beetle-backed ministers

greybearded and shuffling

a parish of bird chirps

here now the sacrament

the waterweed

here now the distilment

of willow sap

the congregation of feathers

the pewsy mud of the

boat underlickers

bent barbelled over teacups

and grub lumps

a grey sky today

for this pinned down testament

a starched frock

two days old

rung around with a choir of warm wheatfields

and sawdust censers

splinter plinths to hold offerings

perched above the silent reflections

and brought now:

broken
reed

lake
glass

pigeon
feather

pages
in a sky painted

tipped
chalice water

river
rat hands

here now the first orison

empty throated into the warm,
seed-hung

stillness

behind the spore-benches

a collection

on a tin plate:

half a dog, half silt

the donations

small, button-sucked

quiet

the revelation is singing with no
mouth

singing willow root and still water

singing frog jump and sky stretch

and the antenna

upside down

broadcast black–radiographa

apocrypha

the congregation reflected

in muddy, beetled voice

---

Rafael Torrubia is an award-winning writer of fiction, history, and things in-between. They have published work with the National Gallery of Scotland, Jupiter Artland, Bloodbath and others, with a weird fantasy novel forthcoming. They currently tell interactive stories on patreon.com/forestsecrets

Sunrise illustration by C.B. Auder.

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