in the shadow
of sunlight heavy clouds
a water song
tainted and long
rides the chill within
an afternoon wind
a man sings
lyrics long forgotten
between silence
and dreams he can't remember
there is a trace in the water
a face within a hand
white marble carved
perfection
just a woman without a name
a martyr to broken religion screams
she is folded into rock
frozen in fear
un-pregnant in her child's beauty
clothed in truth and her nakedness
frozen before all men
men who love
men who condemn
cold wind
shatters all river dreams
leaving
only godless men
alone
to lie in silence
atop all the white marble bones
as they lick their blood fears
clean
men who kill
in a smaller world
water
touch
reach
cold wind
sings a water song
from a tainted river long

- jude