My body is a temple
that desires communion
and requires solitude;
it flows with holy blood and is held
in sacred skin only sacrificed when
given to share
by choice
with the strength of bones
built to be worshiped.
My body is a temple
laid down only when
yes means yes -
flesh to fuel the desire of faith -
free and
given to share
by choice
with the strength of bones
built to worship.
My body is a temple
built by the stars and the moons;
by the bears and the willows
that came before it: the earth
expressing themselves;
given to share
by choice
with the strength of bones
built through worship.
My body is a temple
not to be defiled by the church
or the unholy hands that seek to colonize,
and patronize, and claim
the land and the groundskeeper;
who holds no key but the security
given to share
by choice
with the strength of bones
built for worship.
My body is a temple:
its Spirit chooses to give life again
and again, reborn with each new cell,
and each new “yes” to life -
where faith is not fear, but is
given to share
by choice
with the strength of bones
built in worship.
Our bodies are the church,
where God resides,
and is revealed through
the fires of desire:
holy, and beautifully
given to share
by choice
with the strength of bones
built for all to worship.
- Carolyn Gray
