A Porcelain Mask

by Michael Shindler (October 2022)

The West, Matthew Wong, 2017

A porcelain mask lying in the dust
At the bottom of a great canyon
Looked up
At immensities in the wind.

And there was an eastern gust
That fell in the face of the sun
In worship
Until the air had thinned.

But the mask in the dust
Kept looking
Well past nightfall,
Even, into the sweep
Of the Milky Way.

Table of Contents

Michael Shindler is a writer living in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in publications including The American Conservative, The American Spectator, National Review Online, New English Review, University Bookman, and Providence. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelShindler.

Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast