Thoughts, From A Sin Eater by Pam McNew

Thoughts, From A Sin Eater
by Pam McNew

The first time is the most difficult.

Every time is the most difficult.

Sin is small black larvae,
squirming among the vegetables,
maybe in the mashed potatoes.
perhaps among the green beans.

It is slimy, dark and fast.

It is sightless, but still searching,
even at the end, for a host.

It can be trapped with a fork,
captured with a spoon.
It should never be sliced with a knife.
Forget about the knife.

Sin has no taste.
The sin you eat for others,
for those recently deceased,
it has no taste.
It does, however, have texture and movement.

After you have eaten,
do not think upon what you have done;
take a walk in the woods,
recite psalms aloud,
sing hymns that your mother sang to you
when you were so small
you didn't understand what sin was.

Don't fear being alone.

Spend much of your solitude in prayer.
Give thanks three times a day.
Repent once a day,
preferably before you fall asleep.
Testify by writing your thoughts on paper;
watch them disappear upon a north wind.

Remember no one is without sin,
no one, not even you.
Believe in angels anyway.

Bio

Pam McNew lives in a small town of rural Indiana. She has published verse in Snow Monkey, ChiZine, Strange Horizons, and Lone Star Stories. You can send her e-mail at: pnew8@hotmail.com.