Baptism 1: 1975
Born of Machine
At the gates of the Magic Kingdom
In a room with a view
Disneyland across the street
But after nine months in line
The ride malfunctioned
Lungs not working
No time to linger in my mother’s arms
To be held close
I would have died then and there
Without the second womb
Made of metal
And oxygen
Baptism 2: 1980
Born of Freshwater
When I was held
At the bottom of the lake
By that fish-faced kid
Who cursed like a pirate
When his parents weren’t around
I thought I would drown
I began to scream
But instead
I was filled
With water
…And also bit by a fish
True story
Baptism 3: 1981
Born of Silence
Things that should not have happened
To anyone’s kid
Yet they did
And something held my tongue
As when one wakes from a nightmare
When a pirate breaks into your house
And runs your body through
With a cold sword
And the scream won’t come out
Baptism 4: 1983
Born of Flight
My father held me
Beneath the water
Just for a moment
I plugged my nose
And held my breath
But as my head went down
My feet popped up
And the whole church
Came up laughing
So I ran as far
As my heathen feet would go
Baptism 5: 1988
Born of Saltwater
Not sure why I started surfing
Nevermind
I know exactly why
Because of my brother
That’s all there was to it
I didn’t know who I was
And he was everything
Baptism 6: 1996
Born of Religion
Stoned out my mind
Maybe I’m Jesus
This pizza is my Last Supper
I sober up at the sound of my name
And find out I’m not alone
But I still have no idea
Who I am
Or who it was that called me
So I hid from them both
In the dark
Beneath the altar
Afraid
Baptism 7: 2023
Born of Spirit
The church is empty
The pews are made of dust
The altar is cracked
And light pours in like rain
I can no longer hide
And the darkness no longer conceals
My own reflection in the mirror
I know who I am
And I’ll walk with you
If you’ll walk with me
