1352

I heard a rumor

she was printing bibles

heavy white stock

green leather heat embossed

with her name

she was giving them out

the skating rink

the arcade

the bowling alley

that’s how I first heard

a boy had received one

was unsure what it was

and decided to write his name with

loops and spiraling letters

waxy crayon

that left little remnants

around the edges of the pages

that was when I heard

about her bible

that boy

with a busted lip from her ring

came and told me

I was doing my best to be a

street lamp outside

and had even gotten used to

the occasional bug

crawling around my lips

but his crying

feverish and high

interrupted my ruse

there was a rumor

she slapped the boy

reprimanded his parents

for sacrilege

had stormed out

walked past my obelisk form

I didn’t know it yet

but I’d soon become a convert

with black eyes

and a tongue trained in her name

I did my best impression

of a minister

and a salesman with a pressed

suit and a briefcase of green

gold embossed bibles

but then

well

as we’re talking now

I realized I wasn’t a believer

I just liked to get hit