The Holy of Holies, close to downtown,
St. Canisius, 8:00 p.m. to midnight.
God is calling you to join the sanctuary
of angels as you close your eyes,
thousands of them chanting the Gloria.
Pentecostal tongues flicker and flame
as the parishioners meditate, some prostrate
in the aisles before the Lord, who hears
their prayers in all languages.
A woman in a mantilla and thin coat pleads
for shelter and food for her family;
they have no doors, roof, or address.
A man stuttering his whole life praises God
in blessed syllables. A couple join
hands and prayers for peace in Ukraine.
A flock of temple sheep in the streaked
light of a stained glass window
wait to be called.
After Benediction, the lights
go out except a red one hanging
from heaven over the tabernacle.
Philip C. Kolin is the Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus and Editor Emeritus of the Southern Quarterly at the University of Southern Mississippi. He has published more than 40 books on Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams as well as fifteen collections of poetry, among them Benedict’s Daughter: Poems (Wipf and Stock, 2017), Wholly God’s: Poems (Wind and Water Press, 2021), Mapping Trauma: Poems about Black History (Third World Press, 2023), and Evangeliaries: Poems (New York: Angelico, 2024).