The Machineries
by Stephen Kampa
That saints love murderers and perverts shocks
Those sensible adherents to decorum
Who swear by choir and quorum
And keep their ad hoc courts well-stocked with rocks.
Good taste requires disgust. The saints are tasteless,
Too indiscriminate, finding criminals
As close to miracles
As anyone. If saints had only placed less
Emphasis on burning hearts and more
On nice ties, tidy lives—the niceties—
There would be no complaint;
But soon, and sensibly, they’ll know the score.
What standards mean. What cold machineries
Immortalize a saint.
Stephen Kampa is the author of three collections of poems: Articulate as Rain, Bachelor Pad, and Cracks in the Invisible. His work appeared in Best American Poetry 2018.
