small talk

The thirsty come for water
Do not give them chalk
Give vanity no quarter
or pulpit worldly talk

When the children ask for bread
Do not give a stone
Or request to taste an egg
A snake or broken bone

Perhaps your words the last word
There is no way to tell
Your voice the last they heard
Before they went to hell

Hush, oh soul before the text
And pray, “rise up oh spring”
To stand before the sacred desk
Is an awesome, holy thing.

                                                        -id