I glanced up during benediction and saw a bird
small, soft and gray in the rafters.
I wondered if he watched and thought us absurd
or wondered exactly what we were after.

He picked a perch above the pulpit
and peered down at the altar
and when the priest raised the Divine Culprit
sang a note that made my soul falter.

It faltered and fell with the bird’s descent
as he swept to claim a Heavenly Crumb,
my eye and spirit followed his ascent
my heart beat like an angelic drum.

The priest spoke there and to my relief
his words commended that Good Thief.

Originally published in The Tower Light, 2020.