.                                                           “No one wants to have a sore spot touched,
.                                                           and therefore a society with so many sores twitches
.                                                           when someone has the courage to touch it”
.                                                                                                                   – Oscar Romero

.                                                           White

collar around my neck chokes
proclamation over teeth tired
of chewing convention’s bit –
marks me as Father.

amice on my shoulders presses
persecution into bones bent
carrying the dead, its
ribbons crossed behind my chest –
marks me as fool son.

alb covering my heart captures
blood veining between hands stretched
pouring sacrament into the mouth of madness –
marks me as dynamic spirit.

crosshairs mark me as victim.

sheet pinked as blood leaks
out of teeth, over bones
between fingers
onto the tiled floor –
marks me as martyr.

-Duke Gatsos