“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” 

       – Genesis 11:1-9 

& it came to pass that we were stars 

       -truck. See, we departed from the angle of the 

sun. Found brick & stone to build a city 

between our hands. Said let us make 

       a name & twisted dirt into tower, 

sand into syllables, heaven into heritage. 

We were so close to touch- 

       ing the sky. So far from ground the flood 

narrative sloughed from our skulls. & it came to pass 

that our tongues angered God, our mouths 

       too round & sharp in the sinful ways we shared 

our breaths. See, we found heaven 

but it did not want us: God blurred 

       our names so we out- 

smarted the water & only stoned our- 

selves. The narrative shifted 

       the tower & we closed into fists, twisted 

dirt into dust, sand into storm, heaven 

into harbinger. Bricks scattered 

       bones, & we were so close to touching it all. Let us 

make a name, we said, but we got 

tongues instead. The flood- 

       gates opened & no water poured out, 

no city blurred the sky, no 

names to share our sins— 

       & so it came to pass.