Face blank as absolution,
from this back row
she stares straight ahead
to the small raised stage
of touring musicians, lost
in the rebel notes they sold
their souls for. Surely, the slight
shadow of sax expands
to fill her one solemn eye,
the blur of bass drum
the other. The charismatic vocalist’s
filled-with-the-Spirit keyboard
oscillates up and down
her stiff spine, while—
inside the long sleeves of her habit—
her fingers, half-hidden
in the fabric’s heavy folds,
tap-tap, tap-tap.
—Marjorie Maddox
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
