this house alive

there are voices in the attic

wispy whispers past the cabinets

filled with tawny photographs

i am stolid

i am steadfast

where there's panic

lingers relapse

oh

no; those breakdown days are done

this house alive

i can hear the floorboards breathe

creak

creak

are these angels come to take me?

if so

i'll wave my white flag willingly

i have shed my snake-skinned past

clustered flies hinder the windows

for every angel there's a devil

oh no

make these voices go away

i was a god-fearing boy

sure

i stumbled more than once

but so did his begotten son

an orphan

thrown out to the wolves

not prodigal

far worse

i was hustled

i was scorned

made a criminal. but i stand here reformed

there are voices in the dead of night

a child screaming

i am gemini!"