Whole and Entire
by Matthew J. Andrews
(after Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Instead of consolidated on heaven’s throne,
the multiplicitous body of Christ
fractures: the dour one with closed
eyes, hanging like a mirror on church walls —
bloodied, slumped, wordless; the one
chopped like onions and presented
by a priest, who places the dissolvent
flesh on the tongue; the discorporate
one lining pews and aisles, feet
shuffling, hands folded, mouths agape —
pilgrim parts longing for a form to embody,
for a skin to wear draped like a robe.
Matthew J. Andrews is a private investigator and writer whose poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Orange Blossom Review, Funicular Magazine, and EcoTheo Review, among others. His debut chapbook, I Close My Eyes and I Almost Remember, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. He can be contacted at matthewjandrews.com.
