Prayers #2

by Aimee Nicole

Standing beneath Echo Bridge

I howl obscenities into the ether,

hoping to crack a slither into

a parallel universe, reverse life

before those wicked ways.

Hard to swallow but yes there

was a time when I didn’t act

out for so much attention.

Sat in lace dresses on pews

and begged for forgiveness

of crimes I wasn’t even sure I committed.

How can I confess every sin

when they are also the responsibility

of the boy who threw me into that

well of my mind until I could scratch

my way to the surface, knuckles so swollen

I required amputation at the wrist.