Upon Hearing of Chaos Theory, Jesus Smiles
sets an army of fire ants
upon the trail of a garden snail
the ants want to make a meal
out of such a slow, meticulous
creature a sparrow
mistakes the ant-speckled
snail for something tasty,
plucks it from among dry leaves,
shell, ants & all, carries it
to a nearby magnolia branch
pecks at it, fumbles it
when several ants scurry up
its beak & bite the bird
in one eye the snail falls
back to earth & the impact
dislodges many of the ants
the snail coils into its shell,
sealing itself from the world
moments later, ant-free, it moves
on beyond this patch of grass, tree,
bird, whatever possibility
believing, if it could, in miracles