entourage of one
he sings a karaoke Hallelujah
a Monday night mass
a church under new denomination
faith gave me up
over a decade ago
but the rituals beg
to be remembered
the body of Christ
as overpriced Pringles
grape juice blood
as pickle-pear shots
this fraternity of broken
singing to fill the neon lit vault
another COVID death pings
ain't it shocking what love can do
we swallow this virtue of suffering
wrap up against the sobering cold
stumble back up the one-way
repeating a Gospel no one believes
Caleb Ferganchick is a rural, queer, slam poet activist and author of The Secret of Sunflowers (2021) and Poetry Heels (2018). His work has been featured and published by Western Colorado Writer’s Forum (2021), South Broadway Ghost Society (2020, 2021), “Slam Ur Ex ((the podcast))” (2020), and the Colorado Mesa University Literary Review. He organizes the annual Slamming Bricks poetry slam competition in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Riots and serves as a board member for Western Colorado Writer’s Form and Mutual Aid Partners. A SUP river guide and speech and debate coach, Caleb also dreams of establishing a queer commune with a river otter rescue and falconry. He lives in Grand Junction, Colorado.
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Caleb Ferganchick 