BY GREG MARZULLO
Read by the author
Who will heal Jesus
blind in his bed
his hands dried up
like rare birds in a museum
Feathers faded under klieg lights and scrutiny
offer no consolation to the poor
gathered outside the garden gate
made by Joseph when his son was a boy
That was before the child went away
about his business
not knowing what it was
not knowing the cost of doing business
not knowing each flavor of hopelessness
not knowing what to say when the clinic called
not knowing what to do when his boyfriend
died not knowing you could be
too tired to cry not knowing Eliot
was right about April
He so easily let go
of never seeing Paris or publishing a book
but he couldn’t shake the panic when he thought he might
never again smell freshly turned wood
or listen to country music on the kitchen radio
so he went home
where the nurses wouldn’t touch him
but old Joseph cradled him in an unfinished manger
—For David Kirby and family
One Comment