You could say that the place
had a pious atmosphere.
It was an atmosphere
that I finally had to think about,
and when I thought about it
I had to admit
that I could not get comfortable in it;
I could not breathe a full breath in it.
- Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
My cloistered office window
opens to four roofers
re-roofing the parsonage.
Hard rock station, four letter
words, and cigarettes.
I know the work is hard.
But shit, it’s real
and those men can breathe.