Anais Vionet Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

viva la dissonance!

(The following vignette barely resists collapsing into raw blurting.)

Ask my priest and he’ll tell you 
I have a long-term boyfriend, whom 
I’ve loved improperly for years.

He’s the custodian of my sin (my priest).
The church has its own language of fault. 

He might not tell you, actually, priests have rules 
- there are legalities aplenty - but he’s sure, 
I’ve laid it before him (confession). 

I outsource my gilt to professionals 
- I’ve left my faults behind - 
who wants to cary all of THAT around?

I have an unstable and somewhat elastic 
belonging to the Holy Roman Catholic church, 
but there are tethers of family that hold me
- one of the obligations of inherited identity -
and I find it convenient that my sins can be
formally acknowledged while socially invisible.

“You have an unrecognized attachment,” he’d said, 
moral frameworks often expose their own inadequacies.
Alas, my morals sit uncomfortably behind my desires.

In my mind, I momentarily see a triangular road sign that reads,
“Warning: self-exposure: intimate realities may exceed dogmatic frameworks!”

“Say two Our Fathers, three Hail Mary, and one act of contrition - and in the future,” he said wincingly, “use your indoor blasphemy voice.”

Yeah, I frequently leave ‘Our Lady’ with scheduling issues. 
I use an Apple Watch app to tally my penances (Counter for Watch - free).

He did complement me on my consistency and how politely I misbehave.

Still, despite my over-caffeinated, theatrical guilt and moral dissonance
- I’m clean. I keep my sins organized 
- Heaven, here I come.
.
.
A song for this:
Stoney End by Laura Nyro
.
.
slang…
Priest = my authority figure/witness
Confession = is not absolution, it’s documentation
Our Lady = Notre Dame Cathedral

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Vincine Fallica July 4, 2026 at 6:58 AM Sr. Ursula lost me in the first grade after force feeding me the Baltimore Catechism. That was back when mass was in Latin. I used to lie in the confession booth and make up sins so I had something to say to the priest. I wondered if the penance I said then, could be credited to commission of future sins or were depleted by being applied to the lie I just told in the booth. / If forced, I’d say I was an unaffiliated Taoist Pagan. Basically, I’m just ‘Go with the flow’ and do the right thing. / <3 Anais Vionet July 4, 2026 at 9:42 AM I think you have credits, I'm talking' venti mocha lattes in heaven with who.. Audrey Hepburn, Margot Robbie or .. well, it's Heaven, you'll get 17 virgins I hear - but frankly, I don't understand the draw of sex with someone who doesn't know what they're doing - unless it's to hide your own inadequacies?