I lay stuck on the bed,
stuck
It's dawn
birds chippers
for the night long gone.

there is a place
where church bell mix
with morning call for prayer
I still lay stuck on the bed

even when zealous teens
trod the soggy earth
bearing a wooden crucifix,
performing orthodox rituals
of the parish.

I'm still lying, stuck
_ my father calls me a renegade

© JC Allison