ASKING

ASKING

by Dan Fante

For years I thought that

talking to the Gods

was an exercise

done privately

under

unforgiving

distant stars

ridiculous unrequited prayer

done by staring

at old cold books

with mean small print

But then I discovered

that just

ain’t

it at all

God can be found in the ‘thank you’ voice of the guy at the counter

at the 7-11

or

the quietness of a stranger’s parking lot smile

or

the rattle of weeds across a dry summer Mojave

or

watching my untethered fingers jump jump jumping

across the keys

deep in the middle of typing three hours worth of truth

God – for me – turned out to be

a conscious choice

a self-evoked experience

just

like

love