haikus (or morning prayers).
Meredith MacLean
Scene set: let us pray
Your faith is not a belief
Rather, a lifeline
Though, am I rescued?
Sinner, or saint, I wonder
Go paint me as one
Have no multitudes
Oh, saints do not need lifeboats
And sinners must drown
Guilt is a mantra
Forgiveness is a cupped cheek
Amen, and end scene.
Longing, wanting, wait
I feel no touch on my skin
Morning, day renews.
Set night:
Hidden in cloaked darkness
I do not lie with sin
Instead, we dance
Meredith MacLean is a senior at Rutgers University with a major in journalism & media studies and a minor in creative writing. She is currently the features editor for the Daily Targum. Her hometown is Midland Park, New Jersey.
This piece was written for Professor Susan Miller’s Spring 2022 poetry course in form and technique. Professor Miller selected the poem for inclusion in WHR.