Crucifix nailed above the door frame:
Judging from on high, up high,
Criticizing this sinner filled with shame
Over philosophical concentrations,
Deviations from acceptable behaviors
And intrinsic inclinations.
Please God, I need You to
Save me from my mind.

Permanent in a conditioned way:
I could move it, take it away,
But there it will stay,
Because for all my guilt
It comforts me still.
Simple and sleek, an omnipresent trigger
Of ‘Thou shall not…’
Cruel and graphic, a deliberate homage
To the suffering our sins once wrought.
Familiar and warm, a reliable constant
In a life that is ever changing.

I don’t know what to do with myself,
If you’re not around.
The fear keeps me grounded,
Because
Difficult is always better than different.

It’s only 7 by 5
Stable sign, regular reminder
That the things I want,
The doubts I harbor,
The places my mind wanders,
Don’t honor His last act on the cross.

Jessie Gutierrez