Of course,
I am dropping my metal coins into the slot on the carved-cross box,
floating paper dollars into the passed around basket,
paying rent for the reading of The Gospel
& of course,
attempting to buy my salvation
with my hard-earned-mammon,
which of course,
the colorfully robed-folks love so much
and seem to get so easily.

When clouds conquer the sky
The disposed Texan sun shines through in shades of grey
The air turns thick before the heavens explode

Pedestrian cars disappear from roads
Winged animals huddle in shelter
As the clouds weep sheets of warm happy tears
They make rivers of abandoned streets

Then come the children in bare feet
Blinded by heavy rain
Laughing, drinking, cheering, dancing
Lost in joy, absorbed by natural wonder

The clouds applaud in lighting and thunder
Driving the dancers indoors for warm towels
And Doritos chips, burgers, and video games

Blush when I compliment how well your fingers fit between mine
I'm allowing my shadow to write this for me
She sorts through all the dead skin that covers my heart,
She wants to turn all the white into a galaxy of things you don't understand yet
It will obtain a mixture of sermons that don't mix well with wine or metal
But it always matches with skin
I wonder if you always wore white because nothing shows of blood stains better
maybe it'll bring out the green in your eyes
And how whenever I glanced at you I felt a nostalgic recollection of unhappy family Christmas gatherings
I hope that when you discover the effect you're having on me you take advantage of it
And realize you are blooming
Not as a grocery-bought plant but as a red flower in a field of yellow dandelions
I'm here to tell you my declarations are white and hot but I dressed them in black for you to see more clearly.
I miss the ocean and how the current always ran against me
I'm slowly beginning to like my shadow
I'm slowly starting to understand the color of the blind
I want the waves to tug at my ankles once more in a plea to come closer
like the way I would tug at your arm when I wanted to go home
I want your saltwater to fill my cuts because you've made me clean since I met you
I know you sting scars and scabs because you want me to be pure
and I am eager to be held underwater
My heart that stumbles across my chest like a drunken man making his way from a local bar to his home,
Look at how you've made it tough
Look how it heals on its own now
I have always had a love like a dimly lit room
And you are always carrying the candle

Maybe I don't want to see you again
Maybe I want to drift away
on a bed of poppy petals.
This soft blanket has become heavy
like lead
it tells me
things are okay
but I can't hear it
I'm too busy listening
waiting
for your footsteps to fall away
for your shadows to disappear
like everything
that was once contained in me
has come and gone,
like the moon.

My tired body
Doesn't need sleep
My tired body
Needs a warm embrace
My tired body
Needs a gentle kiss

Then maybe
I'll sleep

**-AA

I don’t understand the phrase
moving on

Because how do I forget
the sincerity of my smile,
when you look at me
with the same one?

And how do I fill in
the nooks and crannies
on my body, where yours
fits perfectly?

And how come the sky
hasn’t changed colors?
As long as the sky is blue,
I’ll never not be in love with you.