OUR SINS.

[dadio]

Our sins
are like stains
on cloth

Auntie said
and she took you
into the church

and sat you
in the pew
and knelt down

with her eyes closed
and you looked around
the windows

and the stained glass
and the Christ in His glory
and over by the wall

sitting alone
a girl sat
staring into space

with bruised cheeks
and blackened eye
and Auntie muttered prayers

like whispers in the dark
and you studied
as a child studies

the girl sitting alone
her hair drawn back
in a tight bun

and the stained glass Christ
gazed unaware
of the bruised girl

and you
and Auntie kneeling there
and Auntie whispered

kneel down
hands together
and pray

and you
doing as she said
whispered back

what shall I pray for
and what do I say?