Calisthenics for the Heart (Chase Fontenot-Lafayette, LA)

To the preacher bench
 May I confess
 Barbells clang in rhythms
 A choir's hymn
 Melted sounds of gym
 Giving in to fatigue
 Your only sin

 Sweat like holy water
 May it wash over my soul
 Muscles led to slaughter
 Still yield an empty hole
 Loneliness being lifted by
 Crushing back rows
 And wide grip pull-ups
 "Are you crying, bro?"
 "No, it's my fat burner. Shut up."

 My calloused hands
 Cry for more
 Than company of cast iron plates
 Or protein
 Or a steel-bent core
 Yet a yearn for another
 No matter the weight

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Ash Wednesday (Brian Falcon - New Orleans, LA)

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