Oct 2019
I heard the water,running as water hadn’t ran before,
as I pressed my ear to his chest;we were drunk
with nowhere to go, we were where we were, and until dawn
We’d have to wait that way – In silence save for whispers,
Until dawn – a crucifix of an almost neon blue
hung against his wall; Jesus’ image had sagged,and whether through darkness
or through age he was faceless,featureless and blent into his own cross.
Between our unclothed skin and the streetlamp caught coldly in the window
that wooden cross served as our sole light. Most of the time
I kept still,eyes closed with my breath held,my words sealed,in motionless throat;
Waiting for you to speak – hoping you wouldn’t – hoping I could continue to listen
As the water that had raced through your chest began to settle and thin to blood
as I pressed my ear to his chest;we were drunk
with nowhere to go, we were where we were, and until dawn
We’d have to wait that way – In silence save for whispers,
Until dawn – a crucifix of an almost neon blue
hung against his wall; Jesus’ image had sagged,and whether through darkness
or through age he was faceless,featureless and blent into his own cross.
Between our unclothed skin and the streetlamp caught coldly in the window
that wooden cross served as our sole light. Most of the time
I kept still,eyes closed with my breath held,my words sealed,in motionless throat;
Waiting for you to speak – hoping you wouldn’t – hoping I could continue to listen
As the water that had raced through your chest began to settle and thin to blood
Written when I was fourteen after a night spent at my best friend at the time's house after the last bus left and it was raining heavily. He was the only Christian I knew at a non-Christian school and although I was a full-blown athiest at the time,I did go to a catholic primary school and found it fascinating as a topic if nothing else, so he was the only person I could discuss religion with on-end, although we rarely did.
