Reincarnation

Cold marble on my back,
Name carved,
Dates done.
But I still hear the bells
Calling everyone.
Black ivy on my stone,
Wind in an iron gate.
I’m standing in the path
Of my own wake.

Dust on the halo,
Cracks in the glass.
I died one time,
But I came back last.
Life after death
In a borrowed skin.
Cross that line,
And it pulls you in.
Dust on the halo,
Shadows that sing.
I wear the dark
Like a second ring.

Old church,
Burned-out roof,
Rain in the stained-glass eyes.
I walk through every pew,
Watch them believe the lies.
Candles melt like years,
Dripping on the wooden floor.
I lived.
I bled.
I left.
But I want more.

Dust on the halo,
Cracks in the glass.
I died one time,
But I came back last.
Life after death
In a borrowed skin.
Cross that line,
And it pulls you in.
Dust on the halo,
Shadows that sing.
I wear the dark
Like a second ring.

Are you listening now,
When your lungs catch fire?
When your heart beats slow
Like a funeral choir?
I’m the echo that stays
When the mourners go.
I’m the “after” that laughs
At the words, “Let go.”