The Golden Calf

As you danced around
the Golden Calf, your spinning gown
showed all the hungry boys in town
what they had missed

They thought that you had found
the echoes of that holy sound
which God had spat into the ground
that he had kissed

Your soul was tearing and a thread
was dragged behind you as you fled
into the shadows of the bed
in which you hid

And as the whispers spread
their color darkened to a red
that stained all you ever said
with what you did

I met you one night
through a trick of the light
a thousand lifetimes ago

I held your face
in my hands, and I traced
every line you never wanted to show
because I know
We are the children that never let go
We are the children that never let go

As they poured across
the borders of your dress, they crossed
into the layer of the frost
around your name

And every one of them was lost
between the hammer and the cross
that you labeled and then tossed
into the flame

You know I never meant to try
to teach you anything, but my
commandments smashed when I collided
with your hips

And who was I to dare
to love you or to interfere
with all the scars that you declared
across your lips

I met you one day
through a crack in the pavement
a thousand silences old

I pulled your chest
to my hand, and I pressed
every crest that was covered in snow
because I know
We are the children that never let go
We are the children that never let go

I was forced to scavenge
through the rotting crates and salvage
that was broken down and ravaged
by the sea

And as we stepped outside
we saw the calf, and then a tide
of moonlight hit it's golden hide
and it was me