When God Lived in New Jersey
As a child I believed God lived in New Jersey.
When he grew tired of living with the homeless
he moved under our hickory tree.
The cardinal flanked in tree sap
let me know he was always near.
Today, where I’m from, rain hammers the earth.
Noxious weeds—yellow dock, baneberry,
hemlock—gnaw at my sleep.
I plant marigolds to repel earwigs feeding in the night.
Where I’m from, it would be too clichéd to build a wall.
Words implode, tiny firecrackers
under my skin—
Climate Change Gun Control
Coronavirus Border Wall
I’m tempted to become a Venus flytrap
to hold in grief.
In dreams I dodge-ball shadows
after watching the news.
That’s a good question indicates the speaker
has no idea how to answer said question.
That’s a good question has the moon
spinning stone, God spitting foam.
…….
“When God Lived in New Jersey” (Best of the Net Nomination) was published in The Rising Phoenix Review and can be found in the chapbook The Body is No More Than a Greening Thing by Louisa Muniz (Finishing Line Press) at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/the-body-is-no-more-than-a-greening-thing-by-louisa-muniz/
Louisa Muniz was born and raised in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She holds an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Kean University. She is the author of the chapbook After Heavy Rains published in 2020. Her work has been featured in numerous anthologies, blogs and literary journals including SWWIM, Tinderbox Journal, Sheila-Na-Gig, PANK and One Art, among others. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She is a former reading specialist and literacy coach. Louisa currently lives in Sayreville, N.J. with her husband.
The Paddock Review 