Today while Thinking

Today while thinking—stumbling
Outside the box—I found myself
Lost: bent, entangled in defeat &
Bleeding freely; watching you

Pray. Kneeling to unseen gods
In holy temples with crumbling
Resolve. Hands outstretched,
Past temptation, to the ceiling

Of your faults, & limited by sin,
You cringe with a fistful of wasted
Chance; lungs filled with stagnant
Guilt. Repent, my brother—repent

For past misdeeds, O wandering
Vagabond—with hands that con-
tinually scan horizons for chains
To tether your faith & comfort

Change. Lost inside your self-
Made prison, barred from any
Prospect of growth & withering
Downward in denial. Gnawing

At the center you've given away
Is the very beast you tried to tame;
Baring teeth, from which you run
—Everything you must become.