Portrait Of A Wallflower Who Shies Away From Confessing His Sins

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In the dorm, I betrayed myself 

a lot, when all I needed was to 

stand & speak up for me. It's 

Wednesday evening, & everyone here

wears remorse like a rosary before the

padre. I did not step out. I hid myself

underneath my bunk because I was

afraid to present a tautology of

inequity, afraid of being vetoed for the

crime which my body is. I understand 

that we're all sinners who sin in many

ways, but it's tiring when the only sin

you confess every Wednesday is the

safest you've ever come to orgasm.

I'm an infidel who kneels at the mercy

of a blade & I hope God does not run

out of grace when I bleed silence as 

regrets for my frailties. The only way

I can get saved is to be collected into 

a sterile Petri dish, & be cultured 

in a batch of mercy. Lord,

make me a venial colony. 

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Nwuguru Chidiebere Sullivan is a keen writer from Ebonyi State, Nigeria. He is a penultimate medical student and a Forward Prize nominee who makes poems from everything he can't stammer through speeches. He has works published or forthcoming at Shore Poetry, Journal Nine, Inverse Journal, Rabid Oak, The Lake, IS&T, Disquiet Art, Dreich Mag, B'K Mag, and several other places. He can be reached on Facebook @NwuguruChidiebereSullivan and on Twitter @wordpottersull1.

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