Lamb’s blood

for Mat­thew

I didn’t know that life could cut like this,
Razor-sharp and unreasonable:
A shot going off in a young mind,
No-one there to com­fort the tormented.
I didn’t real­ise I could bleed through tears,
Pain­ful and searing,
Burn­ing into veins of water
The fire quenched in wrench­ing spasms.

I always thought life knew our paths,
And passed over those with lamb’s blood
On their doors, but now
It seems that human blood is different –
Death’s angels dis­reg­ard the good and the bad
I didn’t real­ise we would cry so soon.