The Church Closed on a Sunday – Aremu Adams

The young girl moves up on stilettoes,
The church denies her entry on Sunday.

It’s 8am, the church is closed. Sentry-
Man says rapture is exclusive in nature.

The young girl moves up the stairs & sits.
Her sins are as heavy as her countenance.

She has committed Gomorrah, a contagion.
My poem & the birds doubt she would be

Forgiven, so we throw her our sympathy.
She thrusts her hands out to feel the wind,

Perhaps there is something there to hold
Onto, something that’ll exorcise the hunger,

The plague, the insatiable urge for feminine
Flesh & blood. She waits until sunrise for a

Miracle. Instead it is her who calls, the voice
From heaven, the devil she tries to get around,

Brushing aside her griefs, urging her home.
When she leaves, the church begins its service.

Aremu Adams Adebisi is a black poet + economist + religionist. He authors works inspired by natural vastness, some of which have appeared or are forthcoming on Rockvale Review, Brittlepaper, Barren Magazine, Laurel Magazine, Terse Journal, Thirdwednesday Magazine, Peeking Cat Poetry and elsewhere. He seeks to find depth, peace and tranquility in poetry, exploring the concepts of liberation, empowerment and existentialism. He recently made the cut in Best New African Poets Anthology and 20.35 Africa’s Anthology of Contemporary Poetry. Find him on Twitter @aremudamsbisi.