Toothache in Solitary

 

mercy

 mercy is an old dog

waiting in the rain

at your door, at your door
long after dark has come

mercy follows me

so says my mother,

so says the priest

It’s shining so brightly if

you just believe

open your hands

 say it out loud

​

words, words, wither me
I need mercy to bare its teeth
to split the ground, to bend the trees

to shake the walls, to part the seas

to turn the world back on its axis

​

how can I make amends
hidden in shadows

 gorged on regret?
o sweet platitudes

burn up like the grass

out on this desert plain

​

I’m calling out