BAPTISM

​CONNOR DREXLER

---

My baptism occurred while
smashing my head back on the bar-wall.

The clattering bottles of Miller,
then old beer pouring from the counter
smelling faintly of piss. I sat bewildered
as the morning light greeted me there,
soft as it had ever been.

Imagine God
lifting you to the surface of water,
not from drowning, but
from forgetting
you’ve held your breath.
​
You’re convinced for a second
you could be dead
and not know it.