Paradox and Parable

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Paradox and Parable


He's seeded them like pollen

        in the Chattanooga valley during 

                May—in other words, thick, 


if quite impossible to catch

        and stash away. 'You die to live,'

                he says, and other axioms that give


the logically inclined a mental 

        hemorrhoid, the theological 

                a chance to understand by redefining


what it means to understand, 

       the way you must relax a bit

              to let what's in come trickling out.   


In middle school the doctor

        cranked my pinky-finger's

                middle joint to resurrect it whole,


and man it hurt like hell,

         demanding quite a bit of faith

                that what’s to come would make 


the surgery worth it in the end—

        it's in this inability to mend

                the broken things we find the posture 


needed for a deeper sort

        of mending. It’s quite amazing,

                really, their invitation for a peering


through the glass like corner

        windows at a department store, 

                or just a chance to take a glance


at who we are—to check

        ourselves a bit—like corner

                windows at a department store,


and all depending on the time

    of day, or what it is we want

    to see when slowly strolling by.

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