The Scarlet Twitch

Keep me together this night--
the body and soul are at war--
and I am on the side of neither and both.

Make your image
visible in this weak
tumbler of flesh--
another twenty-four hours closer
to the last door on the left.

Those born with the scarlet twitch
and the gnarled stumps rap
on your green velvet table--
the line forms, our pockets empty
and we shuffle like bleached sticks.

Keep our weakness
in the sight of our Savior--
whose blood forms the clots
that will kill
the last great darkness--
and mow its thick
green, weed-laden lawn.

--
Wayne Bornholdt is a retired bookseller with degrees in philosophy and theological studies.  He lives in West Michigan with his wife and their three Golden Retrievers.  He has published his work in a number of journals, among them: Ekstasis, Fare Forward (forthcoming), The Clayjar Review, Ravens Perch, and Amethyst.