they say i have never truly touched anything
they say that electrons
the swirl of particles circling in infinite probability
repel each other
so disgusted by the reflection of themselves in another
that they cannot bear to even brush
and in their eternal battle more righteous than the revolution and more fractured than the civil war
they deny me the privilege of ever touching too

so i suppose i have never really wet my face with tears
or run my fingers through crisp autumn leaves
or even held a hand
that is, if i believe what they say

and i do believe
i think you can alter a system just by seeing
and a butterfly’s wings beget not hurricanes but entire cosmos
and i’ve never truly touched anything, ever
they say
and i believe
because science is the religion of the faithless
and i’m a denizen of a world where god’s on his lunch break
and all the angels moved away to college
and i’ve been left behind in a small-town high school
wondering
wondering
wondering
why everyone else is smiling
lit up like conifers on christmas eve
while i’m the string of lights that just happened to burn out

they say i have never truly touched anything
and after all
if i don’t believe what they say
then what do i believe?