Leper Colony

born into
invisible rot
my pristine skin
pinched, pulled,
twisted, hollow
blows to the
blood and bones

don’t mark
the fruit on
market day

we remember
Lazarus, how
he rose, we
forget where
he lay, whose
porch, what
name he called
the rich man
dressed in purple
while wild dogs
licked open sores
no one remembers
one rich man’s
name, even as he
was punished he
was nameless,
a bit player, cameo,
extra, chorus,
accessory

come with me
together we’ll
cut strips of
skin, like
slaughtered meat
you and me, we’ll
live high on a hill
far away on an island
we will colonize,
decay, print our
own bills, punch
our own coins,
invest in an
afterlife of
clouds and
bitter counterpoint
arguments to
the heartless rich
who left their
gates locked,
who let the dogs
lick it up, left
us to protagonize
sins, tragedies and
French farces

one door opens,
another closes
instantly, no
chance, no
choices, no
regrets

let the wild dogs
lick our wounds
forget our names,
feed, bleed, the
plateletes line up
like supplicants,
damn the doors,
scab over, staunch
the flow of time
with tiny red
circles of regret