On Returning To The Faith Poem by Jean Mallette

Wash these cheeks with tears of gladness;
Stain this marble face with ease;
Strip its paint; my God, unclad this
Craven image void of peace.
Long, I've wandered deep and lonely
'Tween confined and guarded walls,
Heard the pleas of those who've known me,
Heard their faint and distant calls;
Longed to join their conversations,
Loose the binds that hold me in,
Say farewell to dead relations
With the past and what I've been.