My Sins

I stare in the mirror

the devil stares back

Laughing and sneering

his taunting attack

“I bought you, I own you

now run, try to hide

Your soul has been mortgaged

your spirit is mine”

I run to the yard

and come back with a brick

At the silvery glass

I throw and then kick

The pieces all splatter

and smash on the floor

As a roar can be heard

from the rafters and more

A fire has started

the attic ablaze

With bats in the air

the demon is raised

I reach in my shirt

for the cross round my neck

For my Grandmother’s promise

to preserve and protect …

And the heat that it carries

burns bright in my hand

As I point it aloft

at the horns and demand ...

“A Rosary upon you

return to your cave

My faith is restored

— my sins he forgave”

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)