lorenzo (i)

his chosen path led him
to this place where
he is gazed at with awe and desire
where the mere color 
of his skin stirs images
of longing and where his beautiful face
lulls everyone to dream
but the hands poised to touch him
are held still by laws
and lips remain sealed with unconfessed 
yearning, and all there could be
are stolen little instants:
a glance, a fleeting brush of the fingertips,
a smile that momentarily forgets the god that has staked a claim
the brotherly kiss that lingers a second too long
and after, the quiet resignation that quells the night’s remnants
of blasphemous thoughts

peace be with you
she said, looking into the clear blue-gray eyes
peace be with you, she thought
and war i declare with your god

for a split-second, his beautiful saint’s face wavered in doubt

lorenzo (ii)

sometimes he sits among the flock
he is, after all, still young
and still learning to be 
a proper shepherd
he would sit with them and
how they greeted him, sweetly,
so fondly, so eagerly
but she ignores him,
passes him by
so deliberate in her intention
to treat him un-special
and in a way, it was alright
because he could watch her.
sometimes he forgets
that he is praying
sometimes when he remembers,
he finds himself supplicating in an
ancient, forgotten tongue
and then the holy ghost
would squash the dark thoughts
lurking in his heart
he would be grateful then, relieved
then he would realize
that she is watching him
and sometimes
she would smile

strange
that he feels
a tinge of emptiness

god’s testament

my faith
is old;
it belongs
to the age of Abraham.

it needs 
to be spoken to
in signs
as strong
and clear
and tangible
as an Isaac.

my faith
is old;
it is tired,
it is weak.

my faith
is dying,
drowned in the red sea
searching for chariots.

my faith
is dead;
and three days in the tomb
made it deader still.
what more
three weeks,
three months.
three years,
three damned decades
of bearing the wounds
of the cross.

and all the prophets could say
was
Wait.

poems for sebastian	revisiting ruins	musings	a crooked path
a man of god	old times	spaced out	stars too bright

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Acknowledegments

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