calla

we will scream and bleed and
talk about the weather

we will drive to the edge of town
the two of us the both of us and
every border will be marked
with barbed wire

this is how hope is defined
and denied

this is why wars become movies

the days are blue and motionless
are nails bitten down to dirty blood
and when you open your mouth to speak
the girl is raped

when nothing but the dust of
10,000 ghosts spills out
she's murdered

an ending yes
but then the parents burn the
trailer to the ground

the image of the virgin mary appears
on an empty billboard further down the
pacific coast highway

and we are out of money and
we are out of time and you are
sunburned and sick

are puking on the bathroom floor
on the day gideon's body is found

and you want to speak of faith
and you want to speak of healing
but they're not the same

the wounds are washed
but they don't disappear

the children are given names
then taken away

it matters
but we'll act like it doesn't
because what you remember is always
so much more than who you are

because you will never hate anyone
more than you hate yourself

will never love anything
more than you love money

it's what christ was trying to
tell you all along