deathless i remain

Deathless I Remain
By Rino Palmani

deathless I remain
stranded in this isle of cinnamon
where there are no drooling prophets with broken hands
and no painted women to taunt weak men in imaginary wheelchairs;

where raindrops tremble
and mourn the deaths of whales
and children bury their prayers in cereal boxes
where the sun is a murderer that spits on hapless crabs;

deathless I remain
a boneless figure clothed with a cloak of sorrow
not by protein and not by water will I receive absolution
but by her embrace and the grace of unleavened bread;

and nourished by a brief touching
of foreheads, hers and mine, I declare my war
against a beast whose tongue is lubricated by vinegar
who lays siege against me in the hollow chambers of my ribcage;

deathless I remain
and deathless too is my love for her
the angel with sad eyes whose forgiving arms I long for
deathless I remain as I await the coming of the feast of unleavened
bread