Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Leslie WilliamsApril 19, 2019

A biker in the checkout line has cursive
on his arm: He has removed our sins as far from us

as the west is from the east. In purple ink. His skin’s
like parchment from a calf’s cleaned hide: soaked,

dried, stretched, then scraped with a crescent-
shaped knife. Treated with lime to make it accept

the writing. All my nights are like papyrus,
drenched in tears, a wash of disobedience

staining my blank ease. How craven,
wretched, wasteful I’ve been, trusting the sad

needs of flesh, endangering the small animal
of spirit. And yet, a hungry lion

on the veld will prowl elsewhere
if the wind shifts. Save my skin, dear wind.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinApril 02, 2025
During his long and fruitful pontificate, St. John Paul II embraced the entire world, which stands yet again in need of his blessing, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.
Father Marko Rupnik, a well-known priest and artist, has been accused of sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing more than 20 women.
“If (President Donald) Trump’s wishes come true, it could happen in the future that pastoral care in Greenland would be offered from some American diocese, which would mean I would lose my dream job here,” Father Tomaž Majcen said.