Sad Prayers for Guilty Bodies
They stored their passion in the creases
In the corners of their mouths
Every angle of light from the open window
Washed their aged faces out
“Should we feel guilty?” they said
“Should we feel guilty for this sin?
Lord, did we kill a man and woman
Just to lie here skin to skin?”
“I wasn’t happy
I wasn’t happy where I was
Oh, what is life without a purpose?
What is purpose without love?
I pray my children will forgive me
Though I bade the river flood
I have washed my hands a thousand times
But still can see the blood
I still can see the blood”
“Oh, great mercy, I am here
To beg forgiveness for this mess
I know I tore two worlds apart
But I can’t change the way I felt
Love swept in like a storm
And ripped the hinges from the doors
Love poured in like a flood
I couldn’t stop it any more
I will not be
No, I will not be
Drowned”
She said, “Lover, come and hold me
I’m terribly afraid
While you’re shouting at the stars
My scars are not fading away”
He said, “Darling, I was begging
Heaven make them disappear
But see, I didn’t get an answer
Or at least one I could hear
Now, I am thinking of the past
And how we both said vows and lied
And I am wondering how we trust ourselves
To say a second time
To say a second time”