These Hands, If Not Gods (Natalie Diaz)

I like poems that combine the holy and the profane. Poet Carl Phillips does this very well. This poem by Natalie Diaz, unlike those by Carl Philips, lacks hesitancy - it's very straight forward and clear headed - but it does mix bodies and sex with holiness and biblical references.

I like her questioning if her hands are not gods with all that they do. How are they not like gods when they can shape her lover's body, his bodily reactions, their shared love? What a wonderful idea and concept for a poem.

Favorite line: "Finally, / a sin worth hurting for."

Finally,
a sin worth hurting for.