One lung full while the other
constricts,
shrivels,
crushed beneath this weight
I can’t think, can’t
resist,
weakened
by the purchase of screws
I held myself down for
and bled my tears
listening to the
sweet sound
of mourning doves.
I have forgotten You
and I confess
sometimes I think You are gone,
abandoned me
for greener fields
of those more faithful.
But You say I am Your temple—
chained as I am to memory,
so please keep holding out keys
to this puzzle of wings
I am putting together
to fly away from ghostly apparitions
that visit me in my dreams.
They kiss me on the forehead
and keep me from the tiny living temples
that matter at all to me.
Serpent of haunting,
you’ve bitten, but you are crushed,
and I, while breathing in a whisper from the moon
through windows
streaming enlightened threads
in reflection of daylight,
in the back of my mind
I hear it
in each pump of blood
from my heart
I know
I know
I was meant to be free.
Copyright 2012 Jennifer Wagner
I'll be linking this to Poets United Poetry Pantry