My body, a sacrament
Shy bones peer through my skin like a hide
-and-seek game I wound up lost in.
How long will my body feast upon itself,
dark wine of my spirit poured out,
before I invite you to share in it?
Let’s call this communion. Here I am,
a sacrament. Take and eat.
I am a bird hitting the window. I am the ants I once mangled on the concrete as a kid. I am the bundle of peonies in my mother’s arms, picked from her garden in the backyard. I am shattered robin eggs beneath a tree. I am the spring’s defrost, the redbud blooms in March, the delight of your heart. I am a bride draped in white, and this is our marriage song. How long until I feel the release of this ache seared upon my skin? You say, Watch and see what I shall do. I will, Lord, I will.
4 thoughts on "My body, a sacrament"
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I love the title of this one, excellent use of religious imagery. You killed it! Thank you for sharing!
I love that first stanza and then the rushed chaos of the second.
This is so well done! Love the very first line break especially, and all the images you’ve chosen in the 2nd stanza.
The form is an effective surprise as suggested by the great turn of the line “my skin like a hide/-and-seek game I wound up lost in.” Like a haibun in reverse.