Sin

Whenever I sin
I lift a pot of salt water and set it ablaze
"The sinner shall not go unpunished,
The words of the Lord shall not return void"
I pour the raging water on my feet
I watch it wash away my sins, such renewing might
This penance only can save you, said the priest

For the many times I walked like a girl,
Swinging my hips in a manner forbidden to masculinity,
I open a wound on my flesh as the Lord takes my sins away.

For the many times I
Have wanted my colours to fly,
The anxious butterflies caged in my belly to flee,
I set the same pot ablaze, the Lord takes away my sins.

For the times I have worn crazy Jean and cut afro,
The ways I de-fame your presence when I come in this, I add wounds to wounds, the Lord takes away my sins.

For the times, I have learnt not to control certain things in certain ways, The day the devil took over my something.
I inflicted a wound on my wound, as the Lord takes away my sins.

After all my sins are gone, the eyes bleed,
As pains gather momentum on each part of my body,
Heaven, they say, is salvation,
My body, a land of torture.