the Archangel
with the power to heal,

hovers over the roof
of my house.

He’s been up there
since you left.

I went to a Catholic school.
I tell myself

my guardian angel
was happy to be reassigned.

Raphael keeps my house
safe inside,

me & the dog tame,
neither of us going feral.

My dog lies
like a pile of clothes

on the rug in front
of the hearth

where you & I cast
our shadows & glistened;

where later, alone,
I felt laid bare to the heavens,

roofless,
looking into the void,

but much less so now,
Raphael perched

on the chimney,
the sparks like stars.