Living on Saint Michael’s Prayer
By: Katelynn A. Moxon ©

The rain lashed against the windows
Like pellets from a gun
My hands crippled in defeat from typing
My thoughts the only sound as they echoed in my head
My fingers tore at the sheets of paper
Like a knife through fabric
But the words still remained:

“The shadows of death creep toward me.”
“My reflection found in the blade.”
“Forever is an eternity.”

The darkness cloaks my secrets
The silence keeps my lies.

The typewriter shattered as it met the floor
Words pouring from my wounds
These words I try to hide
Beneath the canvass of my soul
Yet there they are there,
A reflection of the portrait on the outside

The stagnant air clung tightly to me
It pressed its lips against mine
I began to quiver
I knew I had to leave…

The tires of the car collided with the stone covered ground
I was somehow lost, yet found.
An escape from the coldness of my world-

From the shades of silver that blurred my right from wrong.
The shades of gray slithered off me, discarding their presence
The sunlight brushed the air with shades of orange and crimson.

The heat giving way to blistering lashes;
As if waging a war against my skin.
The tall steel and concrete flashed by;

Faceless, nameless.
These structures leering at me, yet graceful where they stand
Man’s attempt at hell.

Hell gave way to heaven
There were no longer steel structures obscuring God’s tapestry
I drove onward, the engine and Bob Dylan as my soundtrack
This became my movie

I remember the farmer’s in the field
Making money from an honest day’s work
Unlike the hookers that loomed around the city’s alleyways

I passed a field of horses running wild and free
A stallion caught my eye
His steel black coat glistened like the sun’s reflection from a mirror
His long mane billowed in the wind-
His dark eyes filled with pride and freedom
I longed to be one of them- free.

My friend James called and I told him about the horse
I said, “Did you know that medieval warriors believed that all fallen knights were re-incarnated as horses to protect and guide?”
James answered “No.”
I didn’t say anything else we just thought on the line together
Finally we said goodbye.

The further south I drove, I felt as if the city’s grime was stripped away
No longer numb, the fresh air brought life into my soul
As the radio’s Restless Heart sang “And That Rock Won’t Roll.”

I stopped the car and there before me stood the Mississippi.
I stared into its depths expecting to find my soul
But there on the banks of that muddy water,
It just stared back at me.

She said this is where he drowned, fallen off the side
I thought I saw his face at the bottom
I heard him scream for help, but it was just a bird
Fighting with the leaves

I stopped at Mamma’s Place for good home cooking and a piece of pie
A familiar face walked out from the shadows
Good old Mike had found me
His dusty motorcycle helmet in his hands

“My monkey’s on the bike” he said, and we both laughed.
It was good to be in his arms again.
We sat and ate the pie, friends sharing old times
The darkness set in-
He followed me to nowhere…

We drove onward to a chapel by the river
The night air clung to our aching bodies
I knelt to pray but couldn’t find a way to ask Him for some faith.

The darkness cloaks my secrets
The silence keeps my lies

The pews echoed deep with silence
The cross reflected the waning light
When a child tugged at my shirt

His clothes were soiled and torn
There were no shoes upon his feet
He asked, “May I please have some money, so my Ma and I can eat?”

My hands trembled as I gave him the bills with a smile
I watched him disappear around the corner
The tears began to fall and didn’t stop
I fell to my knees and finally I could pray.

We left Mike’s bike there, broken on the road
As we made our way back home.
Just living on St.Michael’s prayer.
Bon Jovi would be proud.

Bob Dylan kept us company as the city came into view
The cold grey came back
It began to rain as if the city was crying for my pain

Mike smiled at me
He grabbed my hand and held it as we sat on the side street
I looked into his eyes
Warm like honey on a summer’s day

He just smiled
Finally he said, “Some things happen for a reason.”
I nodded and left the car

The darkness cloaks my secrets
The silence keeps my lies