Colombo, Sri Lanka – Easter Sunday April 21, 2019
Two young angels in training
stand guard in the center
of the church with rifles
strapped across their chests.
Their camouflage uniforms
set against the wooden doors
framed by pink terracotta walls
decorated with shrapnel,
shards of glass, fingernails, and teeth.
Black stains drip from below
blown glass window-rode-iron remains.
Beneath their booted feet:
pews with the backs blown out,
a dismantled altar,
and the wreckage of a pulpit.
Julia Bonadies is an English Teacher in New England. In her spare time she tutors students in writing at a local community college, and writes poetry. Her poetry has been published in Shapes, Eastern Exposure, The Leaflet, The Chronicle, the Albion Review, Eunonia Review, and Amythest Review.
© 2019, Julia Bonadies
Halfway Down the Stairs 