religion in footsteps

and we return to the snake's back (because i like it). not sure i like it, not sure i don't like it, but i think i've gone about as far with it as i'm going to unless i get highly inspired again. (it's not really the kind of thing i feel like i most like writing anyway.)

. . . . .

this is a poem for me
not because i don’t love you
but because i’m trying to love myself

this is for me, borrowing fences
and the way shadows look like god
when the light hits just right
and the things glanced out of the corner of my eyes

this is for my feet tracing the snake’s back
trusting the serpent
my hands tracing my hips
trusting my bones

this is for prayers like strands of hair
pressed into footprints in the mud
beneath the cathedral arch of tree limbs
bare as lent, awaiting their savior

this is for religion in footsteps
and balancing on the snake’s head
for the roots i forget to treasure
and the time when thoughts stop

this is a poem for me
not because i don’t love you
but because i am trying to love myself