Sacred Skin

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