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did it hurt
when the tongues of
fire landed on their
heads
did it
burn
singe

ignite something in their
tongues
so they talked all crazy

and the sound of the wind
roaring like through a tunnel
did their bodies be
come tunnels for the
holy spirit to come rushing
in
and go through them
tsunamis––
the marys and the others

were they scared to death

we writers
we take liberties
when we think we
can get away with it
luke when he wrote
of the wind and the fire
the sound that was full of it

he told it
like pete just stood up and
waxed forth
in-powered

but maybe they were
just plain scared

all that voltage
coming through us
shock and awe

what to do
with it

Photo by Cullan Smith on Unsplash

Anna Redsand

Anna Redsand was raised by missionaries in the Navajo Nation. She is the author of the spiritual journey memoir To Drink from the Silver Cup: From Faith Through Exile and Beyond. Her essays have appeared in several literary journals, and “Naturalization” was a notable in Best American Essays 2014. Her biography, Viktor Frankl: A Life Worth Living, won four national and international awards. She lives in Elk Horn, IA. She can be reached at http://www.annaredsand.com.

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