The Chapel by Brandon McQuade

In the quiet hours
the wind howls
and the snow drifts
like mountains.

The fire burning
in the hearth
of the chapel,
in the heart
of birch and frost
is not lost
on this wilderness.

These are the keys
to our survival
and comfort—
necessary fragments
of our domestic,
modern world:

knife, tent, firestarter,
pen and paper, a good book
and a sack lunch—
companions we carry with us
like torches into the wild.



Brandon McQuade is the founding editor of Duck Head Journal. His debut chapbook, Bleeding Heart was published by Kelsay Books (2021) and is available on Amazon. His debut collection, Mango Seed, is forthcoming with Scurfpea Publishing. He lives in Gillette, Wyoming with his wife, Jacqlyn and their children.