In the shadows of the pews | Teen Ink

In the shadows of the pews

October 2, 2022
By campbellmccormack BRONZE, Haverford, Pennsylvania
campbellmccormack BRONZE, Haverford, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Come find me in the shadows of the pews

This Sunday morn, once sermon’s come and gone

When worshipers have cleared, I’ll wait for you

I’ll kiss your lips beneath the roof of God. 


The Lord must hate and burn me in his fire,

But neath his holy shrine my Heaven’s found.

I’ll live and die in flames of my desire

Because my love for you, it knows no bounds. 


One day, I swear the world will shrink to us

To only you and me, our hearts a home

Through heat and Hell and flames, we won’t combust

We will emerge unburned and unalone. 


No God will ever keep us two apart.

For now we lay in pews, pressed heart to heart.


The author's comments:

Growing up in a casually religious household and eventually coming out as queer has been a complicated experience for me. Although my parents have never been incredibly religious, I worried over coming out to them because of our largely Christian community. In recent years I've found ways that religion works for me, and ways that it doesn't. This poem tell the story of two young queer people growing up in a Christian society and fighting their way through homophobic rhetoric toward a brighter and more accepting future.  


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