Pax Modern Poem by Steven Federle

Away from fading windows
sealed deep within the efficient building
empty chairs wait.
Gleaming floors echo
friends laughing
hello and
goodbye,

but here I sit
alone.

The sun set without me tonight.

Through long corridors I watched
as slit windows softly glowed
with withered passion.

But night rises suddenly!

Night is a fast clock,
firing rounds of morning, tomorrow, next week,
next year
into my defenseless heart!

Night is a rude guest,
an expected surprise.

But where is God?

In this comfortable cave
bright, sterile altars serve
quick
convenient offerings.

No squalor of crucifixion here!
These are painless rooms,
climate controlled,
self-satisfied.

My soul dozes.

From troubling dreams
of resurrection
beige walls lull me
to dubious peace.