Abigail Langseth

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Kneeling hurts
my knees now
and joining my hands
in prayer is unfamiliar
as my wrists stretch
unnaturally to keep
my fingers high,
pointed to heaven.

I remember it all
like a secret. Every
motion,
prayer,
hymn,
come together for the worthy,
change sin into perfection.

Reconcile and absolve,
Reconcile and absolve,
Reconcile and absolve.

Plunge me deep
into holy water,
cleanse my impurities,
and drown me so
I cannot hear them calling:
You don’t belong here.