With the juxtaposition of piousness and sacredness to desire and indulgence, Ryan Diaz surprises us with his “A Vow of Poverty”. The imagery of the cassock of the Franciscan rector tossed aside on the floor in a moment of passion, the bliss he feels, and his heavy breaths after making love to a sex worker, rock the steady familiar boat of the expected. Ryan told The Dewdrop, “A Vow of Poverty depicts a young rector and his liaison with a sex worker, exploring the dichotomy between what we consider spiritual and what we consider carnal.”
A Vow of Poverty
In the spirit of Francis
the young rector strips bare
and lays against her heaving chest.
With nothing to his name
he allows himself this moment of bliss—
his momentary vow sullied by the
sudden rush of blood
and the sound of choral music
playing overhead.
And while he lies there
panting,
she’s getting dressed and
making for the door,
slipping his indulgence
between her tender breasts and
stepping over his cassock
tossed carelessly on the floor.
Ryan Diaz
Ryan Diaz is a writer and poet from Queens, NY. He holds a BA in History from St. Johns University and is completing a MA in Biblical Studies. His writing has appeared in publications like Cathexis Northwest, Transcendentals, Dappled Things, The Dewdrop, The Curator, Ekstasis, Christianity Today, and Premier Christianity. He is the author of two poetry books, For Those Wandering Along the Way (Wipf & Stock) and Skipping Stones (Wipf & Stock), and a chapbook of short poetry, Like Falling Leaves.