I Have Long Departed Life
you cannot crucify me now
or scourge my body red
for I have long departed life
to live among the dead
there is no gravestone marker laid
no earth disturbed above
I live within and in-between
the hatred and the love
I walk the dusty ditches of
New Mexico alone
a thousand shades of red I see
that bleed from ancient stone
she walked me west of Eden where
the buses run on time
she says the bus is never late
if you provide the dime
I gaze back at the garden gate
the gate and garden - gone!
I turn to her with hope she might
tell me what has gone wrong,
her thread-bare bones stand silent white
then vanish in the sand
and mixed among the mica grains
gold rings from her left hand
the west wind blows with rage so wild
it cuts and strips my skin
I sit down under cactus shade
to contemplate my sin
as turbid air disturbs my fate
the desert disappears
I rise into the morning sky
my face now flushed with tears
but fear is dissipated soon
it drowns along with dread
for I have long departed life
to live among the dead
Copyright © Tom Mcmurray | Year Posted 2011
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