I am from corn fields,

Fed by lake water--

I taste earthy,

Roughly shaped

And my words are heavy

When I speak,

Sounding from deep in my throat

As if I am trying to push

My very soul

Through my mouth.

I am born with a cross

Etched between my shoulder blades

And I hold my breath

When she traces it

When she runs her fingers along the fissures

And kisses them closed.

She is a bartender

Wipes my table of liquor

At the end of each night

Until I come back

Asking for water

And she smiles.

There is a scar on my back

Where G-d lives

And it hurts, sometimes

But I am never more full of life

Than when I feel it

When I know He will be with me;

The permanence of love.