The Homecoming Parade
Brandon Cook
I.
It was like trying to catch dust, or leaves falling from the trees
The October light filtered through the boughs like all is ever, only peace—and could only ever be
In that pressure of mid-afternoon, prophesying night and sleep
The whole earth was ready to rest
The world was a sighing chest
We lined the streets of our little village, off the highway
As the football players, cheerleaders, homecoming court, and band paraded by, throwing beads and candy to innocent hands
And mothers gathered their children like hens, as we looked forward to Friday night:
Our ritual, our bloodless letting of sweat, our sacrifice of virgins
Everything rose up in sweet wonder—like smoke in an ashram, and the dirt with us, asking:
What is this holy longing? And what is all this truth beside it?
II.
We heard stories of boys and cheerleaders beneath the bleachers doing unholy things, or in the woods behind the stadium, exploring forbidden lands, hand in hand
Whatever drove us to stand on those curbs, trying to catch a pack of Smarties,
We knew some mystery lurked right beside us
And still it beats, undeterred
Our bodies less able to catch anything, but our hearts, like jaguars,
Still plying the suburbs, searching for that same feeling,
Just before the starlight