Sober

By Marjorie Maddox

“If then we have angels, let us be sober, as though we were in the presence of tutors; for there is a demon present also.” — St. John Chrysostom

Thick with the unseen, the autumn air quivers with angels. Luminous devils hover between wings.

The autumn air quivers at such simple deceptions: devils hovering between wings, sweetly singing old hymns.

Oh, such simple deceptions. The battles we breathe in: harmonies of sweet old hymns, the flutter of beautiful sins.

They battle us. Breathe in the luminous, the angelic flutter of beauty. Or not. Sin hovers unseen. Thick.

Professor of English and Creative Writing at Lock Haven University and Sage Graduate Fellow of Cornell University (MFA), Marjorie Maddox has published 11 collections of poetry—including Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation (2004 Yellowglen Prize; re-release 2018); True, False, None of the Above (Poiema Poetry Series, Illumination Book Award Medalist); Local News from Someplace Else(Wipf and Stock); Wives’ Tales(Seven Kitchens Press); Perpendicular As I (Sandstone Book Award)—the short story collection What She Was Saying (Fomite Press); several children’s books; Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (co-editor; Penn State University Press); Presence (assistant editor); and over 550 stories, essays, and poems in journals and anthologies. Currently, she and photographer Karen Elias are collaborating on several projects. For more information, please see www.marjoriemaddox.com