I Stood Naked

I stood naked
when I stood for you
on whispering stones
that could not move
and when I fell, I fell
through knives of glass

I went from holy flesh
to holy meat
as I crossed the valley
into the street
where aching whores
let off their whimpers

To the beat
of aching hands
the music of swollen
ragtime bands
who lost their soul
to the hungry
masks of virtue

I stood before them
all the while
was not swept aside
by mistrial
stark and lacerated
in my shackles

thus, shards of ice melted
from that husk
the world of mothers
turned to dusk
and fathers went hunting
for their children

Who played a game
of hide and seek
that fed our fear
thinned the weak

and gave the strong
a sense of hardened worth

With time, the stone
was slowly tried
by those who lived
by those who died
who took some part
in each moment of decay

So now I feel
I have reached the floor
I no longer stand
something more
I am clothed in
something amorous

With great effort
I am laid to rest
upon that age old
calm duress
and I sleep as if
I never stood for anything