“Jakob”
(or A Reconciliation with My Ancestors)
by James Schwartz, Regular Contributor
Remembered rebel heritage
& Old Order ancestors
Bearded men by the barn
Exchanging the Holy Kiss
Imitation of Christ
Pressing lips together
Cementing devout dreams
For a Roman revolution
Echoing through generations
Spilling into alpine reformations
Under Alsatian azure spells cast
By Jakob Ammann
Free from Orthodox confines
Of stained glass & silent saints
The power to cast away men
The exhilaration of shunning
Before this plague
There was Jakob’s judgment
Before this plague
There was rot and decay.
The curvature of the Wabash
Witness new crucifixions…