Salvation/Damnation

A double villanelle about addiction.

Salvation
He found Christ in rehab on his way to hell,
The corner-store angel showed him the way;
Traced veins always have the same story to tell.

Stands on sore knees at the sound of a bell,
Rid his shelves of all but one book, ever since
He found Christ in rehab on his way to hell.

He once took his fathers guns and his mother’s diamond ring,
Pawned off his friends and broke a few purse strings;
Traced veins always have the same story to tell.

But now he’s his aging mother’s shadow on Sunday mornings,
Wearing long-sleeved shirts to hide his arms, ever since
He found Christ in rehab on his way to hell.

Holds congregations at the community center with his kind;
He plays messiah on Tuesday nights, warning the others--
Traced veins always have the same story to tell.

Traded one addiction for another,
But the holy cross acts as his new rig�"
He found Christ in rehab on his way to hell,
Traced veins always have the same story to tell.

Damnation
He’s reluctantly trudging along the celestial road
with boots of iron and an everlasting itch in his spine, but
there is no turning back from the lord and his goad.

When the sun goes down, he sneaks away under cover of night;
retracts his sleeve, ties his arm, closes the eyes that’ve yellowed--
he’s reluctantly trudging along the celestial road.

With a newfound pride, his mother slips him a twenty,
and says “You’re doing great honey, go get yourself a beer.”
There’s no turning back from the lord and his goad.

Taking his mothers cash, venturing downtown, crucifix around his neck,
Petey at the corner says “Yo, where you been? This s**t’ll get you mellowed.”
He’s reluctantly trudging along the celestial road.

His followers on Tuesdays were eventually forgotten
but never once did he forget his duties on Sundays--
theres no turning back from the lord and his goad.

Why choose between heaven and hell
when you can get the best out of both worlds?
He’s reluctantly trudging along the celestial road,
theres no turning back from the lord and his goad.