Like An Asbestos Blanket Covers Flame

I’m swimming in a pool of dark

People who've lost their way,

Or never knew how to find it.

We bump into each other,

You say I bumped into you,

You throw words and fist my direction.

Jesus said we shine,

Lights in a perverse generation,

I feel your darkness, my darkness,

Quenching light,

Like an asbestos blanket covers flame.

Can’t count the ways we've parted with principle,

Walked away from preserving life,

Choosing self-preservation,

Not realizing it’s not a stand at all,

It’s a fall,

At least that’s what theologians call it.

Saving self seems worthwhile,

A busted life preserver,

Principles not fleshed out

Preserver without air,

Whitewashed sepulcher like a zombie with make-up on.

We come full circle,

We find our life by losing it,

Strength to stand because we’re already dead.

Riches in broken clay,

He shines and sets souls on fire,

Saving bodies from drowning,

As in the days of Noah,

This time we get on board.