as i surround myself
on this Sunday morning
in the holy fortress
there are strong whispers
of forgiveness coming from every direction
all who are assembled are
looking to reserve a space
in Utopia and/or hoping
to get absolved for
a week of wrong doing
i don’t feel the need to
partake in absolution
or reserve a seat for myself
because as i see it
if God is so forgiven and
Jesus already died for my sins
i should be all set
instead i have 1.5 hours
of unoccupied time in
my mind
i start by counting the number
of bricks that make up each wall
this ends when i find it difficult
to continue after 100
i stare at the murals and stained glass
think about who had the
artistic ability to create such
beautiful creations
my eyes wander from
face to face around the assembly
trying to figure out their backgrounds
and what they are in for
the woman behind me catches my attention
she is wearing a black printed dress
that accentuates her figure
her back end is pressed against
the rear of the pew of where i’m sitting
i imagine that the pew is an
extension of myself
pressed up against her firm body
commandments 7 & 10 echoing
in my head
i’m awoken from my holy trance
with the pastor saying,
“hallelujah, Christ has risen”
and i respond,
“Christ sure has risen!”
