Lamenting Sackcloth

Sometimes it is so hard to repent, even during Lent.

Lamenting Sackcloth

first published by Ekstasis Magazine - https://www.ekstasismagazine.com/poetry/2024/lamenting-sackcloth

I ransacked the attic, 

rummaging 

through bygone 

bags and days, 

what felt musty

in filth long-frayed—


and unearthed 

this burlap habit, 

hemmed, fashioned, 

suited for sabbath

 
but so massive, 

so I groped tight

its wooded grit 


and with dull blade, 

I fabricated 

a flaxed fit,


some suitable dress—


(heartless, I confess)


and it just fell, 

with hope impaled—


so I wear 

the grief 

of not grieving,


guilt unwailed—


now my coarse heart 

hangs heavy

with what 

won’t rend—

baggy and callous

beneath its own skin.