10/28/2019
cigarette smoke escapes your mouth
leaving a halo around your head
whiskey seeps from your pores
scattering like incense
curtains—nearly shut—let fragments of light
in through shades of stained glass
in this house of the damned
preaching at your alter
your voice bellows throughout the halls—a sermon of hate
you'd crucify me if you had the chance
but you'll settle for lashing me with your buckle
stoning me with insults
and starving me of the love I so desperately need
marching footsteps, boots on the floorboards
steady as an organ pedal
my hands raised high, praying for a miracle
no amount of Hail Mary's and Our Fathers' will save me
from this hell you created
forgive me, father, for I have sinned