Molly Kirschner

Against Predestination

 

Lacunas in clouds where the city peeks through,

I’ve got a God’s-eye-view from this plane.

I’m an atheist because the beauty is better

when I think I’ve seen it by chance:

 

Spanish moss,

a man blowing his soul through his trombone,

Christmas Eve in New Orleans: fireworks and

bonfires on the levee: smoke and

sparks swimming out like minnows.

Marlboro packs burnt into black roses.

 

I’m an atheist because it’s funnier

when I think I shouldn’t laugh:

Jackson Square where people get palm readings under palm trees,

janitors find wads of cash on the street, wheelchairs are decked out like

Harleys, pigeons peck crumbs out of cracks in the ground,

and I hear ship horns, French horns and saxophones.

 

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Molly Kirschner is a poet and dramatist. Their first book of poetry, Hard Proof, was published with Red Mountain Press and was the number one bestselling book from Small Press Distribution in the month of June 2015. Their poems have been published in The Broadkill Review, Poetry Quarterly Magazine, Torrid Literature Journal, River Poets Journal, Rufous City Review, and The Legendary.