Lovesong of Bethalize

My sins are huge
toothed ones
committed from
spire to spire
from Pine Street
to Cathedral Row
roaring love
between the domes
and crosses
clawing at a metal door.
My wails are whipped
by an ill-natured wind
through the gutters
of the soul
and I mewl
like a poet
ignored.
What have I learned?
I have learned
how painful it is
impaled on the
punishing
spires of a cathedral
that down below
the prowling streets
can name my sins
that there is little
to redeem now
there is nothing
behind that metal door.

Liz O’Donoghue
“Lovesong of Bethalize” is from Train To Gorey (Arlen House, 2009).