jesus hotline

i'm calling to become 
a pear tree. i'm calling because
i am lost on the side of the highway
walking towards a mountain of shoes.
dear god, let me be a son.
let me be a promised vat of honey.
the bugs are waking up
& we go to tell them, "go back
to sleep." it is not easy 
to ask the void for help. to give
our vacancies a name, call it,
"almighty." the billboard has
an image of jesus. blue-eyed 
& shining. a hotline underneath 
his chin. above the sign reads,
"you are not alone."
the cars rush by like racing dogs.
they chase the eternal rabbit. i bite
& dial. on the other end 
of the line elevator music plays.
angels scramble. no one has ever
called this number before. 
they expected it to be someone
who is ready to worship.
instead, it is me, a fragment of flesh.
a non-believer sifting
for another ghost. no one answers
& i hang up. the angels eat possum apples 
& congratulate one another 
for nothing. i get back in the car.
wait for the vehicle to leave the ground.
i fly just above the tree line.
enter the billboard through a hole
in my wanting.  live inside 
the threads of the jesus's eye.
a phone rings & i answer it.
myself on the other end of the line.
i ask, "are you ready to be saved?"