Prayer for the Living

Go to the mother, to the father, to the house where no trees grow, to the bedroom, the door closed, to her fear and to his fear, and their shame, their longing, and to their bodies, their bodies young, their bodies separate, their bodies together. How far must you go back? Her womb. Her child body and his child body. Go to first hairs. To flesh, chests, arms, faces, buttocks, and stomachs. There, a wrinkle. There, color, nipples, and bellybuttons. Go to the eyes, see what she sees and what he sees. To the fingertips, which want what the eyes have made their own. Go to want, to love, to what wants more than love. Go to sins. What are your sins? Go to where the mother is not mother, the father is not father, and kiss her lips, and kiss his mouth. Do not be ashamed or afraid. The past is a strange land. Go because you can. Go because you can come back.