God Help Me

God help me, she said
Her eyes dark and crazed
She said, I know I made mistakes
That’s what she said to me

Her hair was dark as her eyes
Not black, but this rare shade of limitless brown
That stole the light from the sun
And turned it to darkness

Maybe
Their eyes steal after her
Because her hair steals light from the sun

She sat beside me
And the air was cold
But I don’t know if that was because of her

And when I looked at her,
She looked away
And when I moved close to her
She made no move at all

Except for her lips, her lips
They tremble

And when she spoke, it was almost a whisper
God help me, she said
God help me

God help me
I thought I had no choice
I thought, I thought
There was no room for freedom
And when they come, they come in the dark
I thought there was no point in hoping
Because laughter is a product of delusion
And when they come, they come in the dark
And there is no room for breathing

Maybe
They hold their breath for her
Because she’s hardly breathing

And except for her lips, her lips
They tremble
She makes no move at all

God help me, she said
God help me
I thought there was no choice

How can I be kind to her?
How can I be gentle?
She said, God help me
How can I help?
I am not God.
I don’t know what to say.

Her voice is soft as pebbles
Scarcely a whisper, spoken only
By the gentle tremble, tremble
Of her lips, her lips.

God help me.
God tell me what to say.