They can see us for miles
Dressed up like scarecrows and bandits
Carrying everything we own
Walking in groups along the edges of the road to hell
Sticking our noses up at the passing cars
Turning down rides
Shutting our eyes
To keep the dust out
And while we might've forgotten
Everything else that happened
In the moment between our birth and our death
No one ever
Ever
Ever
Ever
Forgets their name
And your name
Your name is a two-syllable word
Meaning 'gift from God'
Did you know that?
Now, I wouldn't know God from Eve, frankly
I haven't met God myself, I don't know anyone that has
So I can't vouch for her gift-giving abilities
Maybe she put a lot of thought into you
Or maybe you were something she picked up
At the 24-hour petrol station
At the last minute on the way to the party
Maybe she supplemented you
With a couple of bottles of cheap white wine
And accidentally-on-purpose
Left one of the bottles in the car
Or maybe...
She made you herself
In her spare time
Out of glitter
And clay
And leftover scraps of dying stars
Maybe she didn't name you at all
Your name just was an observation
And a statement of fact
"Here
Here they are
A gift from God."
Now
I don't know you, gift from God
But I don't need to know you
To know that I trust you
And I think we would do well
To stick together
Because, you know
Down here, the winters kill one in ten
And the summers wipe out most of the rest
And bands of angels stalk the ridges at high noon
Looking for the sick and dying
To separate from the herd and digest
And I can distract the vultures
While you sneak in behind them
And raid their nest
We can keep watch while the other sleeps
And take turns shlepping the sins
That we get to confess
And they will see us for miles
Dressed up like scarecrows
And bandits
Carrying everything we own
Walking in groups along the edges of the road to hell
Not
Entirely
Alone