All praise the lepers,
praise the boars
praise mud and dust and filth,
the flies, metal buildings
with metal doors.
Praise the needle in your arm
the scars, your body broken, maimed.
God bless you in your hospital bed
purple yellow pale, drooling
crying out, wounds weeping
pinkish stuff, God bless
your bad breath, for you are breathing
and God is here, God is not
all rainbow ponies and kitten fluff,
God is the dark blood in your veins
that flows and flows and never
sees the light of day
until it does. Hallelujah,
praise Them, god of darkness
god of light, locked in an embrace
that looks like mortal combat
but is in fact every kind of love.
