God of the Godless

Guard
your
self
between your ears is all you'll ever own
whatever you believe comes next
the trappings of this world
can never sustain your soul

Although prudence
protects from excess
it can only delay
decay of flesh
If the promise of paradise
is the path you chose
life's obstacles will test your faith
for hopes alone
hold no mastery over death

As the brush worked across the skull
bleached white and crumbling
the desert whispered
nothing
I felt the wall of the wind
and the god of the godless
withered in my hand