Baptism
Mattern, Evelyn
Baptism You sleep deeply in your mother's arms in the front row of the small stone church far and not far from the center of things. In a few minutes cold water will strike your forehead and...
...This jolt welcomes you to the company of children pulling at parental sleeves in hope of early exit for the game, the teenager with curled lip, one half the couple who will file for divorce tomorrow, the father of three who has lost his job, and the old woman in the back pew who needs to sit near the bathroom...
...But the water falls on flesh so willfulness will turn and turn again to tread on the original and jagged pain...
...Evelyn Mattern...
...It may...
...It does enlist companions on the path...
...No doubt this holy water is meant to smooth the stones, carpet them with saving moss, and provide drinking fountains along the way...
...Your unsuspecting parents sit under the window where the angel chases Adam and Eve out of the ruby and emerald garden and down a stony path...
...In a few minutes cold water will strike your forehead and disturb your slumber...
Vol. 129 • November 2002 • No. 19
