Godhead || Jensen Soderlund

by Jensen Soderlund

part 1 is faith, is being good, doing good 

works; part 1 is my bleeding knees 

bandaged in the sisters’ bathroom. part 2 is repenting 

with bread on my tongue, tasting the body 

and letting it melt all over. the ghost loves 

me. part 3 is cold hands on mine. 

surely john was warmer. hold on. 

sink into chlorine colder than the rain 

in the windows. paintings of pastel landscapes 

on dark white walls: prodigious trees 

through which the veil ebbs like temperate rivers 

above which flesh and blood take form in spring’s sacred air. 

part 4 is cold hands, again, 

this time on my dripping head. part 4 is lonely. 

i become another mirage in this imagination 

cult. there’s nothing exciting 

about this part. the prayer ends. this place 

is temporary. we believe all things.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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ABOUT THE POET

Jensen Soderlund (she/they) was raised in Dallas, Texas, and currently lives in Tacoma, Washington with her younger sister and pet turtle, Mark Cuban. She’s been writing fiction and poetry since childhood and refined her skills in creative writing classes at The University of Texas at Austin. She takes inspiration from nature, her family, her Mormon upbringing, and the pride she feels as a born and bred Southerner. Her piece in Fiery Scribe Review is her first official publication.