When lined up by guilt, 

the first boy slipped 

his knife to another

who must have known, 

and this was the beginning 

of conspiracy. All of us waited

for the reeds of retribution: 

"Pick out your own switch."

Even con, every fallen branch,

was weighed until we came up

empty and aching

for redemption. 

We thirsted at the entryway

where we were met 

by the chlorine scent 

of modern baptism.

Erica Wright is the author of the forthcoming collection of poems Instructions for Killing the Jackal (Black Lawrence Press/Dzanc Books) and the chapbook Silt (Dancing Girl Press). She is the Poetry Editor at Guernica Magazine.