Sedative

They say softly,

with perfect diction

and ineffable sweetness,

"I have discovered my own way

to navigate God,"

voices smooth as butter,

bodies flowing with every movement,

toned,

graceful,

malleable . . .

and heads nod "yes" . . .

but somewhere

in the set of the chin

beneath

the softness, the sweetness,

and the fluidity of all that shows

lies something hard,

cold,

unyielding,

tensed like a coiled

snake

ready to strike.