i

Last night you found Jesus in the dregs of the red curry

From that Thai takeout place you like,

Greasy paper boxes with orange drops of oil

Glistening beside our sins.

(Close your eyes and say that last line again. Bow at the knees.)

ii

Six hundred and thirteen reminders not to kill our fathers

But the word unholy is branded behind my ribcage.

The “e” fades from my forehead

When it condemns a man loving another man

As passed down from my ancestors.

(Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)

iii

The TV shrieks with a nation unraveling,

Pundits and prophets offering their wisdom.

I mute the sound and turn my soul

To the fire escape, to the roof,

To twine your hand with mine.

I will never repent enough for this.

(Bow at the knees, then again at the waist.)

iv

Sundays taught me He flooded the world with His tears.

Sometimes I hear the hissing

When I catch myself laughing a little too hard:

Remember, your people are dying across the sea.

Every smile stains my hands a darker red.

(Rise up on your toes, once, twice, three times.)

v

The doorbell ringers say a dead man loves me.

I agree to convert so they will go away

And so I can kneel at the altar and ask why

They glare when you and I walk down the street

(Three steps forward, three steps back.)

But my mouth tastes only tears

& I no longer know the words.