A Sinner’s Villanelle

  …people sin through ignorance…

                                                                         —Leviticus 4:27

All your sins shall be absolved by God:

exempted, annulled.  In quid pro quo,

the throat of a goat awaits your nod,

the slight tilt of your temple.  It’s odd

how a beardless kid can kick, yet know

your sins shall be absolved by God,

dissolved by generous grace.  Your flawed

and felonious name shall be saved, though

the throat of a goat awaits.  Your nod

sends steel through quivering flesh.  Awed

eyes blink back at you.  Cut fast, cut slow:

All your sins shall be absolved by God.

Angels and devils will both applaud. 

Be cleansed by blood as bright as Bordeaux,

by throats of goats awaiting your nod.

Tomorrow, feel free to raid, to maraud;

Drop bombs on an archipelago.

All your sins shall be absolved by God.

The throat of a goat awaits.  You nod.

American Poetry Journal, 2007