You say an incantation over me
and read to me from your holy book
and tell me i’m saved
as if it were that simple.
Here,
under a dull sky
laden
with a coming shower,
a lazy wind
blows deal leaves, street debris
and yesterday’s papers
across the dusty bench
where you’ve perched next to me;
the breeze
carries the distant clang
of a church bell;
i barely notice.
There are things i hunger for;
they are not in this park
or in your benevolent eyes;
you barely notice.
You offer
absolution
for a price I’m not sure I have;
you offer
a place in your remote kingdom’
yet I’m not sure
I can find my way there.
Meanwhile,
under you tender gaze
i am weak from hunger-
you barely notice’
the sweet honey of a blessing
continues to pour from your parched lips
but your words fade from my consciousness
as
with book in hand
you watch me sink
into extinction
