Act of Repentance
by Richard Charles

    Light nails its weight
    against the oval pane
    veiled in black
    coatings of paint,
    singes the glass
    as beaded droplets
    dance and hiss
    on the cement below.

    Between claw-like
    gashes of paint,
    white shafts gape
    upon my naked sack
    of bones, burning
    as a thousand eyes,
    I shiver by the far wall,
    hugging my knees
    with a slight whimper.

    God tucks me in
    the groove of his arms
    kisses the slender
    length of my neck,
    and with steamy breath
    he whispers for me to sleep.






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