Confession Poem by Christine Austin Cole
Confession
To a claustrophobic, the confessional
was penance enough, she thought -
an upended coffin filled with rotting sins
and little more.
Fear’s dark clarity honed her senses;
she smelled the sweat of true believers,
the arrogance of hypocrites and
the heartbeat on the other side
of the little door, dull
and disinterested, waiting
for something more.
She thought then of a Sexton poem –
a dragonfly’s unapologetic un-apology,
and grinned.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned, ”
she would begin, knowing
without hesitation, that she
would do so
again.
Man this made me laugh and yet it has remarkable undertones of the dark and serious...I've always wondered when they came up with the confessional and whether it was to intimidate us sinners...because it did when i was a kid...Coach
she smelled the sweat of true believers, the arrogance of hypocrites and the heartbeat on the other side of the little door, dull Boomerangs that's what we are the pause, the flight the arrogant slicing of air hah! from first fall to first fall! return to sin return to innocence lovely piece Ms. Cole aroha
Being a RC myself, I can appreciate the cynicism expressed here...great poem 10/10
ha-ha, only a Catholic (or former Catholic) could write this....
They say once a Catholic, always a Catholic. Sure, maybe a lapsed Catholic, or drunken Catholic, or atheist Catholic. But still a Catholic. Very nice.
Indeed, she would sin again and again.....and again. She can not unknow what she knows - but does she really know she will sin again? does she really know she wiould LIVE to sin again? does she know that that day could be her last and that she would not have the occasion to sin anymore? does she know? Yes, fears dark clarity honed her senses, cluastrophobia makes her seek the open space, the fresh ain of a clean heart, and more. A truly remarkable poem, one that lives so firmly in the soul and makes us struggle to begin again and again even as we sin again and again. A 10+++
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/9/2024 12:09:05 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Christine, this is an excellent piece! Emotive from the start, its dark, and the imagery is heavy. It' almost as if there is a cynicism in confession that many catholics (myself included) have felt when entering the booth. I love the ending as well, (the sense of continuation in sin) it really brings it all back home.10/10