exile and the kingdom

No confessions were offered up today
in the church of the Ascension.
No prayers were heard.
No hosannas were sung, no wafers
were consumed, and no wine was spilled
on the cassocks of the altar boys.

Instead everyone gathered
in the plazas and the markets
where the news spread
like evangelical fire.
Merchants closed their shops
and all along the watchtower
soldiers kept a steady vigil.

God's voice spoke in dreams
to pilgrims on their way
to Santiago de Compostela,
final resting place
of Saint James the apostle.

Riders were approaching
from the south.