SALVATION ON BEACON STREET

i remember needing you in rusted nights

when promises meant something

and embraces were like god

i remember how you used to save me in the darkness

with whispers

with your touch . . .

 

now i linger on dusty sidewalks

the customary-casual-rainbow-w***e asks me

"you lookin for a good time sweetie?"

i say "no" with the best impish grin i can muster

"i’m lookin for good times �"

you know where they are?"

and i swear she blushes

just before she’s crushed by the heavy sigh

that reminds her that "john" is just around the corner

 

the distant baptist church bells chime

like every other "pro" on the street

without the integrity

the cloistered-preacher-pimp occasionally drums up business on our block

told me once that jesus loves me

i tried not to take a swing at him as i asked

"you think jesus’ll stop that b***h from gettin smacked around

if she doesn’t pull in enough change?"

he said he’d pray for me

but it sounded like a threat

 

all i want is for my life to be as simple as a child’s bedside prayer

as i sit statuesque on steps

sharing sips of bourbon with a urine-soaked-sage

who bitterly throws curses at the college kids

sometimes between swallows

i remember needing you in rusted nights

when promises meant something

and embraces were like god

but god doesn’t live here and the liquor store is open until eleven

and the only gospel that makes sense

is when the customary-casual-rainbow-w***e finds the innocence to blush

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[The Archangel Gabriel]

Joseph-

I like your interesting juxtaposition of the supple teachings of Christ with the complete mess that is the modern world.

"but god doesn't live here and the liquor store is open until eleven
and the only gospel that makes sense
is when the customary-casual-rainbow-w***e finds the innocence to blush"

I love that first line, "but god doesn't live here and the liquor store is open until eleven."

Of course God does not live there if the liquor stores are only open until eleven! That, good sir, is a bastion of Hell on Earth! :)

Great write!

-Gabe