I’m thankful for a moment

In this season

And that’s a nice change

Oh there’s still a need in me

To figure some things out

But a word from my God

Is a healing thing

And it’s helped me to learn

That I must necessarily be

The receptacle of human emotions

The dumpster for the waste of the soul

It is my job, my lot, my calling

And feeling sorry for myself

Is not helpful or needed

I just need to be open

To the knowledge

That I am the leader

And that people will blame me

Say things to me

Make me the solution

Make me the problem

Accuse me of doing too much

Accuse me of doing too little

And will make me a bigger player

In their problems and struggles

Than I actually am or will ever be

And knowing this

Is helping me

All I have to be

Is available and open

She is a cross between a mite and a fairy.

She bites and flits and flits and bites

She has nailed the door shut

And is no longer open to any instruction

Which means that I and you and you and I

Are no longer her teachers

Which is fine

‘Cause kamikaze war wounds

Take forever to heal

Kamikaze war wounds

Are never missed

You lit me

On fire

Then walked away

Said

Thanks for the light

I didn’t know

What I was

Participating in

This is how

You groomed

The whole pack

Of dogs

The Danes

Love their Tivoli

As I love

The pier

As I love

The boardwalk

As I love

Ocean air

Oh enchanted world

We all

Have something

Coping here

Coping there

Coping in Copenhagen

You left without turning back

You left without a word

And I knew what that made you

What consequentially had to be the case

Which is something

Which is quite something

That has nothing to do with me

For you showed yourself that day

To be drunk on every kind of let down

Wet and wasted with upset

That runs the world over

You’re the baby on the bench

So alone and so abandoned

That you’ll never think of a reason

Why you should ever say goodbye

You’re the baby on the bench

Lucky enough to be raised by the village

But bruised enough to think you’re only ever in the way

Your salvation

Is for all of life

It’s for now

This moment

It’s a special knowing

That you are always held

Always always always

Always the beloved

Stand but breathe

Lead but breathe

Be the calming presence

And keep breathing

Whisper consolation

To each other and sing

Sing for, sing with, sing until

You’re convinced of joy

Your salvation

Is for all of life

It’s for now

This moment

Along the backside of the trailer

There are cinder blocks sitting in the mud

Filled with water that’s red from rust

And the rebar is so bloody and twisted

That it looks like the legs of a wolf spider

And it’s hot like only South Carolina is hot

And the gnats and mosquitoes make it suck

Sweat burns everywhere and rashes wail

And the window air-conditioning unit

Is stirring up dust from last fall and winter

Spraying it across allergic skin

My signature song

And all I know is that I don’t like it here at all

That is something I know for sure

‘Cause that heat and yuck

Wasn’t the worst part by far

‘Cause even with

The screaming blotches and the cracked skin

The worst of it came from not being seen

How do you endure being ignored

While constantly keeping yourself from scratching

How do you juggle

The certainty of complete disregard

With the long hell of summer

My lack

Of aspiration

Has come back

To bite me

Because

I’m not able

To balance

The transcendent

And the dust

I just stare

Straight ahead

All day long

I just suppose

That everything

Is stupid

As the sun rises

I just suppose

That everything

Is stupid

As the sun sets

“Boo” say the powerless

And tyrants say “use your words”

But emotion for the oppressed

Is the strongest tool available

Because ticking time bombs

And ticking time mobs

If nothing else, are heard and seen

And when the ground shakes

And the smoke clears

Kings and kingdoms must then decide

If it is worth the stench

If it is worth the ache

When I

Choose to

Walk alone

I cannot blame others for not being close

There are consequences

The results are in

When I

Climb down

Too low

I cannot choose to question the cold

There are consequences

The results are in

When I

Leave you

Over there

I cannot wonder why you haven’t shown

There are consequences

The results are in

When I

Sulk such

Sorrowful songs

I cannot plead for friends to sing along

There are consequences

The results are in