seventeen

“Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.” Psalm 51:1

half-way
through the assignment
to write all our foolishness
on the chalkboard, you
show up, wiping off
our painmaking efforts,
taking the erasers
outside, clapping them
together to watch the chaff
drift away towards the horizon

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman