So I Asked My Priest

Today I went to confession

and told everything I was looking to wash away

Old and new

A way to put an albatross down

Unlink the chains

Wipe the soot from my fingers

Deny the taste in my mouth

Tell God what I did for Caesar

Garments I lifted with holy hands

Palaces I built from pulpits

I shared the wine

I shared the body

I shared the shame

Ready to start again

To do penance in prayer

Until the havoc of another month finds me

Back here

Shackled by a rosary

A misplaced conviction

Irrational fears

And other ingredients for guilt

Waiting on my knees

I asked my priest, and he said

“I think you should see other people.”