What I've Learned in the Past Three Months

I’ve learned how to dismember my ligaments

For those who need body parts, how to

Digest vomit burning the stomach lining.

I’ve learned how to read the bible

As a poem and not a story, as

A way of life; not an outline of life.

 

I’ve learned how to open my arms

To those claiming refugee on cement sidewalks.

I’ve learned how to sing; not choir songs,

No symphonies nor harmonies, but sing

With a shaking voice from the pits

Of carcass burnt within fiery honesty.

 

I'm still learning how to scratch the surface

To let scabs turn to skin, because I have always

Been fascinated with the process of healing,

But I become nostalgic when I outline stains

On my skin from previous memories.

 

I’ve learned how to paint the silhouette

Of a smiling man saying goodbye to his wife

While holding rifles pointed at the cross

By the church where they used to meet.

 

Knowledge comes in two forms;

The first resides within yearning, the second within coping.

I do not know how to tame forest fires

From flocking flames feathering forgiveness:

 

I guess I haven’t learned anything after all.