Absolution

It has been years since I stepped in a church

and yet I still remember 

when to hang my head in shame,

   repent,

                ask forgiveness.

I am 11 and sometimes I get headaches

from sneaking too much sugar

and thinking about girls.

Sometimes I think my thoughts will appear 

in a bubble above my head

for all the world to see.

I look around for the bubble

in my geography class as my teacher talks to us 

        about tectonic plates.

I am feeling something          shift          within me.

I am having urges that God would not approve of.

Is it wrong to like girls as much as boys?

I start to pray every night

     for             absolution.