christ, jesus - a martyr, aged thirtythree:

christ, jesus - a martyr, aged thirtythree:
in these names we held it high (his
father's name, that is - it seems as
if he did a good job following in the
family business) and we sang it loudly
from our strained voices, again and again
until even thinking of the name made us
weep

my mother knew the man once -
she told me that all i had to do was to
take him in my hand and pop him in
my mouth and all would feel good inside-
which is an odd thing to feel after an hour
of guilt every Sunday morning

i still use it every now and then (the
name, that is) - when i was young
it was in gratitude, every time an unfailure
was made or every time a life was saved
(shortly after flashing before my eyes)
or Sasha my childhood dog returned to the back
door after i called for hours and hours
in tenyearold time

now it becomes a curse, really,
like that one time the dog didn't come back
when she left out of the door

the name, jesus - christ, i remember it well
as i sang and sang and sang it until i wept