In This Way (I Am Loved)

this good news
unflinchingly aware
of what is
and what is not

and as we have damaged
what is
with our inherent sickness
passed down from the very first
breath, and the very first shit
this good news intervenes

but not in that Billy-Graham-Revival
sort of way
but rather,
in that Raymond-Carver-Backwoods-Suburban-Drunk
sort of way

now i cling to it/Him
like an orphan
drunk and restless
on these city streets
i make way for
the God/Man
to mercifully
tear my life apart
and burn the clay
and build a new man
with fire
and spit

in this way,
i am loved