A somber corner--
It’s too dark to see
My form huddled there.

I sat alone at lunch,
Waiting, side-eyeing
The lonely souls
On benches around me.

Was I truly surprised,
When none of them
Approached me?


Somehow, the air
Grew less dense,
And my words
Quivered less,
When I trusted
That, perhaps,
The downcast eyes
And gangly frames,
Full of feigned belonging
And misguided hopes,
Only needed a voice
To come and ask
A genuine question of:
“Do you know your savior's love?”
“Do you see a face in the stars?”

“What do you think of
When you zone out at the wall,
And your gaze glasses over?”
No one asked me
Anything other than silly,
scandalous remarks--
But I learned not to respond
And seek out those
Who were willing
To sit on tin roofs
And contemplate the reasons
For moral midnight suns,
And Jesus' love, instead.