On the day we move in,
  clouds interrupt

    our view of what transitions
  into space.
    The whisped water

a thin sheet between us.

  That is how
    close we are to suffocation.

We can almost see
    the glass lion chasing
  the lamb around Saturn.

In the new home I unpack
  Sunday dresses, always
    ready to knee cover,
  shoulder hide.

  Once again, I’m a believer
or a faint of heart follower
  and both leave me
    grasping at wisps

of the faith
  I was raised in.

    Still I cannot

leave. Still I hang
  the dresses smooth.
Still I cloudwatch for
    Saturn’s ringing scythe.
  Looking for the face

    of some god
  who will not
smother me.

Taylor Franson-Thiel is a Pushcart nominated poet from Utah, now based in Fairfax, Virginia. She received her Master’s in creative writing from Utah State University and is pursuing an MFA at George Mason University. Her debut collection Bone Valley Hymnal is forthcoming in 2025 from ELJ Editions. She enjoys lifting heavy weights and posting reviews to Goodreads like someone is actually reading them. She can be found on Twitter @TaylorFranson and at TaylorFranson-Thiel.com