Alysse Kathleen McCanna: Chicago

Chicago

He took a vow of

silence, chastity;

then the fall of man

to ecstasy: wine.

My father, the atheist,

likes a good scotch

after work, and steak

medium-rare, and eggs

over-easy.

Too much theology

can drive a man from God,

from brothers, to the ends

of the earth. Or at least

to Chicago.

I was brought up to trust

my heart and not a book;

my gut and not a preacher;

my strength and luck and

not someone’s benediction;

but on Thanksgiving

and Christmas

my father, the atheist,

still blesses the wine.

Alysse Kathleen McCanna was born and raised in the Midwest. She graduated from Smith College in 2007 and now lives between the mountains and the plains in sunny Colorada