Love this Poem - - - The HUG POEM

HUG POEM
I read about how you
touched them

And they were healed

OR EVEN if someone
just touched your CLOAK

THEY WERE FOREVER CHANGED

You let a broKeN woman
bathe your feet
in her tears

and you washed your best friend's feet

I'm just wondering, though,

DID YOU ever just
HUG people?

I know it's a silly question and all
I'm sure you would have
(why wouldn't you have?)

BUT it's one of those things
that was NEVER mentioned
And it got me thinking about it

AND HOW
Whenever there was a touch
from you
Sins were forgiven
and sickness fell

I think I'm caught up with my sins
And LAST TIME I checked
all my body parts are working
NOTHING special HERE

I'm just a kid
with a HEAVY HEART
these passing sunrises
and sunsets

I don't think our encounter
would have ended up in your GOSPELS
or anything

BECAUSE ALL i REALLY NEED is a hug
THAT'S OKAY FOR ME TO IMAGINE. RIGHT?
That's not CONFLICTING
with any sort of THEOLOGY, is it?

Okay good.

THEN HUG ME.

BUT NOT one of these
SIDEWAYS one-arm-around
the-neck type of hugs

OR the
GHETTO right hand CLASP FISTS
ELBOWS TO CHEST

PAT

PAT

ON THE

BACK

BACK

OR THE you put your RIGHT arm over my LEFT arm
and I put my RIGHTarm under your LEFT arm
And we make this weird SORT-of
diagonal thing

NAW... none of those!

BEAR HUG
ME, MAN!

Take your
old-
SCHOOL
CARPENTER arms
AND THROW THEM AROUND
MY UPPER BODY
leaving my
a r m s
dangling
underneath yours somewhere
and I can barely move them

BECAUSE you're SQUEEZING me
so HARD

(But don't pick me up and make my back pop
because I HATE it when people do that.)

And then hold me.

HOLD ME HERE IN YOUR ARMS
until I start to CRY!

BECAUSE
I WANT TO CRY!

but I just can't seem to do it on my own.

I've been teary eyed
ONCE recently
but not even enough
for a

DRIP


Down
my
CHEEK

There's Just HURT
in my SOUL
That needs to be purged
SO HOLD ME HERE
in this hugging pose
Unitil the PAIN
is FLOWING
from my eyes
and nose