We took the long road,
Tar fading into dust,
No longer a road, just space,
Houses scattered all around.
We made one turn,
Then followed it down.
It was a friend who led me there.
She swore the old man had changed her life,
That he saw what others could not.
I brought her along, Mama.
Three shacks, one car,
A wooden bunk where the hopeless queued.
We waited too.
A dead bird, snake skin, and shells hung above
A dried pool of blood.
His strange decorations.
He called us in,
And we slipped off our shoes at the door.
Inside, his hut was dark, filthy.
Coins and notes lay scattered,
A spider too close to our feet.
The air was thick with the sweat and tears
Of those who came before us.
I wept instead of praying.
You stayed silent
Until he promised we could fix it all,
This life we called our own.
I wish I had never taken you there.
I found salvation,
But you became a scoffer.
Father, I confess,
I was the wolf among your flock.
And I will tell this story again…
I will…
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