151.

forgive me, Jasmine

the foolishness with which I speak

surpasses my lack of humility

from last night

 

the world might heave

& swallow itself

but your arms about me are strong

& I’m safe

152.

when the instructions were given for jericho

we lined up, we of the margins

we lined up to sing & pray like everyone else

but they pointed at us & called us infidel

& called infidelity from our lyrics

& told us to go

 

so further & further out from the wall

of Jericho from the columns of song

from the layers & layers of prayer

& the centre where a golden god waited for freedom

 

we heard: not you infidel

not you with your infidelity

not you with that kind of soul beside you

 

so further & further

further & further until we turned our backs

to the centre & from the wall

& headed back home

153.

we headed for ethiopia

i to look for anu

you for aoife of the marvellous thighs

 

we walked a dark night

you held my hand

reminded me to look for the white line on the road

to watch for traffic

to listen for the direction of the river babble

154.

we walked in the dark

away from the margins

away from the walls of jericho

 

so the stars dimmed

& enveloped us into a darkness

with hard edges & a soft centre

155.

watch for traffic

remember the road line

stick to our stories

hold hands, hold hands

 

so we forgot about jericho

because we had each other

& a cabin that waited