give jesus a valium
and give the cross a new paint job
tell peter to shoot last and look even later than that
we don’t have names
we don’t tell on flowers or line cooks
we eat dust in the margins of victorian nudes
give the waiters all the cigarettes
trip a crossing guard and flip off a cop
we are running on coffee grounds
take paul’s place at the table
go neutral into the swell
it’s halftime in gethsemane
your face is drowning
and the icebergs are all on fire
do what mary does
for the sake of what she’ll say
stick to your guns
or get blown all away
give jesus a valium
and tell him to get lost
weep for the crawdad hustlers
sing for judas stowed away in the rafters
paunchy in the clutch of shadows
invent coins to toss to street cleaners
this coat of charm
it putters and dons all the wrong colors
our steps crush hard-candy dreams
and mash the bones of sardines
but please
give jesus a valium already
there’s nowhere left to run
and the night’s showing off just for us
belched to a dance
wrecked to starlight
you see
joseph’s got crazy ex-girlfriends and holes in his shoes
too
like the rest of us
and gregor’s miffed by insect noise
lost gas caps and shared space
i do not own a tent
so please
for the love of god
give jesus a valium already
so the rest of us here
can get some damn sleep
it’s either that
or i’ve got to sell the manger
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