the shaman sees the Dread Unless by Wayne-Daniel Berard

 didn't need them this time
 White Bear Eagle Sea Turtle
 Ivory Dove
 just directly to the motel room
 himself  sitting at the foot of the bed
 finished and finished and
 entirely seized
 (Merlin and Morgana)
 and you standing to the right
 behind him in
 your black bra and slip
 never looking so lost
 possessed
 by all that losing
    he snapped to
    like a slap
    a mystic
    rear end collision
 lost your number
 and has passed
 you by every day since
 his dearest friend
 quizzical hurt saved

---

Wayne-Daniel Berard, an adoptee who found and embraced his 
Jewishness, teaches English and Humanities at Nichols College, 
Dudley, MA. He is an interfaith clergy person, and co-founding 
editor of Soul-Lit, an online journal of spiritual poetry. He 
lives in Mansfield, MA with his wife, The Lovely Christine.