I'm not as religious
as my mom thinks I am.
She teaches other kids
about our shared faith
every Sunday, with me in tow.
It's not that I don't believe
in the gods that she does.
God is supposed to
guide you and inspire you,
and teach, protect, and love you.
So I implore you:
find God in the halls of an art gallery
or in the crashing waves at the beach.
Find God at the bottom of a bottle
or on the top of a skyscraper,
the middle of a forest,
in the words of scholars
or in the cells of life itself.
Call it what you want,
but find God
in everyone
and everything.

Two days. 
Two days drowning in the cacophonous silence of chaos
Burrowing deep into my waterlogged bones two
Nights kept alive by remnants of a forgotten time, 
Foggy after-images of thunderstorms and 
Learning to dance in the exuberant rain;
An under-developed photo.
Colours, that what you were. Chasing clashing carnival 
Colours. 

Two days. 
Two days burning alive. 
One day I'll turn to ashes, I swear.
These flames burn blue,
They burn with heat of missing you;
Grim golden, sorry scarlet
Do you miss me too? I try 
Not to think (I do) but you slither inside my
Mind like tongues 
Don't you know I'll burn you
Too?

Baby girl,
Do you remember that sunset we spent on the cliff like lust-filled teenagers?
We were feather-light then, floating to wherever the 
Wind blew us to. Wanderlust coated our skin a pearly white and there were
Nothing but sheets between us; a shimmering
Faultline we dared not cross. 
(You probably forgot) 
The way my heart felt as you cradled it in your sleeve. 
In that moment I realised all I could ever be was stone 
Cold, heart sold 
You carved me a rose, I threw you a hose
Its my fault, 
I should've known all I ever did was water you down, 
Dim your spark.
Its my fault, 
Forgive me for letting you drown. 

Baby boy,
I want you to know this:
I'm sorry. 
I'm sorry for ever meeting you.
Sometimes I wonder, what were the chances?
Seven billion other souls to ignite,
But the Devil chose you.
I don't regret anything, the pain, the 
Charred black bond we used to share
Darling, you don't deserve hell like me.
No one deserves hell like me
Don't worry sweetie, they could never steal us,
Not the memories at least:
I've locked them away for another hour, another 
Time, another age to savour:
The son of Man and the Devil's daughter.
I was selfish, but please
Promise me one thing. 
Don't ever forget me, will you?
Not when the tides turn, not even 
when hell burns. *

So one more day passes agonizingly, then two
The seconds fall like honey, I can't bear to look at you
Day three, I'm taking a breath and gathering my courage
I watch as you approach me and my pumpkin carriage
Is that longing on your face or am I imagining things?
I'm not prepared for this-the room starts to spin
Three metres, two metres, one and oh ****. 
My mouth feels too dry, I'm going to be sick.

-An uncomfortable silence-

Hey.
Hey.
So, are we still--
Friends?
Yeah, friends.

The smile that he smiles has me held tongue-tied*
Well, at least it better than saying goodbye.