we are at peace here
even while our lungs are full
of secret wars
& primordial fears bruise our suns
we are at peace here Robert

with hopes upon our heads
& songs sprouting out of our sins
we bless the lacerations

we are at peace here
across the rock & scrub
a sole rainbow pillar
protrudes from the earth, full
of promise & solace

i have one eye full of dreams & hintentions
the other is full of broken mirrors
& cracked churchbells

i have one eye full of rivers & welcomes
the other is full of flickers & fades

i have
a memory full of paths & anointings
a mouth full of ripe infant suns
seven legs for the dancing river & the clement abyss
& a hope that corrodes the convulsions
we bless the long rough road
we bless the inscrutable darkness
where our names are rent into spirit
we bless the splinters & the air
full of asphyxiations & amnesia
we bless our lacerations & our deformities

we bless the belligerent strangers
who stay on in our throats
long after forgotten festivities

as we learn the painful lessons of love
as we learn to respect the night’s sovereignty
& the slow stern wisdom of the desert
we bless the mysteries & the silence