Prison Saint

yeah, he had this crazy deep
scar
across the face

not from ear to ear
but rather temple to chin

it was the kind of
scar that’s impossible to
replicate

no fakers and no worshipers
will ever
get that tattooed right
on their faces

He’s got a lot of
followers, admirers
around the prison grounds

they look up to
him
as to a guru of sorts

yet he’s got nothing
to teach

nothing other than pain

self inflicted

On his first night here
he wrestled another inmate
for an iron nail
that was supposed to be used
as weapon or part
of a weapon

only, he didn’t want to use
it to hurt anybody

but himself

Only… he didn’t hurt himself
with it

No, he really just placed the
damn thing on his
left thigh
and hammered it in with
a fist
all the way to the bone

and then smiled
as the rest of
the prisoners watched

Yeah, it was the overwhelming
sense of fulfillment
this man felt with his
deed that
brought the others on their
knees
and convinced them to
worship him

It’s been months since
the incident
and the wound still hasn’t infected

not a damn thing
happened. Like he’s no
real human being
as the rest of us

I guess it’s this transcendence
of humanity that
determines us
all
to watch him as a saint

We bring him
all the metal we can
find or steal
and watch him insert it into
his body
and hold it there
and not get infected

he is truly…
not of this world

He’s a saint

the other day I
brought him the rusty handle
of a spoon
and he did look upon me with his
limpid, dispassionate eyes
as he drove it into his
armpit

Tomorrow then

I will do better than all
my friends
and bring him a real
actual
true knife

It’s gonna be my
day

I’m going to make it

Then the whole
yard will know that I
am in this man’s favor

Prying the knife off
the guard’s
hands
shall be no challenge

by now
they too
are followers of
this saint

Oh, I can’t wait

I’m going
right now

I’m going for
it

Many thanks to Gobblers by Masticadores for featuring my poem, "prison saint"! 

Check it out HERE!

Thank you!