We Pray to the Giant Face in the Reflecting Pool

We pray to the giant face in the reflecting pool

And no one tells us why

They say we should be able to see the face

If we’re pure

If our souls are untarnished

If we have faith

We kneel by the pool

And lean over to look in

Scared of falling

Not because we can’t swim

Most of us can

But because going in the pool

Would taint it

Because no matter how unblemished your spirit is

Sin sticks to you

Like sweat on a hot day

And we must keep the water clean

The face in the pool doesn’t speak

But if you can see it

What you can see

Are two beautiful full eyes

A simple nose

And a mouth that is closed

And never opens

It has no hair

Or arms

Or a body

It is large—very large

Much larger than a normal face

And we see ourselves falling over the edge

Into the pool

Into the mouth

That would open for the first time

To suck us in

And swallow us whole

Then close again

Without a word

We are frightened of the giant face

In the reflecting pool

It terrifies us

We speak words of love to it

And undying allegiance

But in our hearts

We feel nothing but fear

We are told there’s nothing wrong with our fear

That we should fear the face in the pool

That fear is sacred

That it’s like the fire

That it burns off everything in us that isn’t necessary

And leaves only the essential parts

Of who we are

So we pray and cower and we keep our eyes closed

Knowing the face is there

Without ever having to see it

Because those before us have seen it

The Great Men have seen it

And they know it is there

And if we need to see it to know

Then we are already lost

Because we are people without faith

We clasp our hands and kneel until it aches

We hear lapping and wonder if something’s fallen in the pool

As things sometimes do

And when they do

We do not retrieve them

We leave them as they are

And let the giant face deal with them as it sees fit

Once a year, we line up in front of the pool

And one of the Descendants of the Great Men

Dips his hands into the pool

And then brings it out

Very carefully

So that drops linger on his fingertips

And he brings them over our foreheads

And holds them there

So that a drop from the pool

Can fall onto us

And when it does

It is the coolest drop of water

That will ever grace our skin

And then we go back to kneeling

And praying

And silently wondering

What the face thinks

If it thinks

While it rests just beneath the water

We ask ourselves—

Does it look up at the sky

And wonder about us?

Or…

Does it even know we’re here?