Poem with a Prayer Breaking Through It

~ after Larry Levis


I will begin with this cicada shell,
exuvia a dull bronze armor cast 
thinner against the early light. 
Where the body clung to this
form and where it emerged,
there is a split back. Waterproof
chitin yet husk-thin, paper-thin.
I think of all that lies dormant
underground where moles 
build tunnels with no windows,
where warmth and light are rumors
until suddenly the soil, too, rips
its casings open. The gardens, wet
with rain after days of near-drought.
The waterspouts garrulous again.
This artifact of long-held desire, 
this proof that there is life after 
a long imprisonment in darkness.