First communion: 6 by Tom Sharp

She sings hymns with words that are not her own. Nobody sings her words, not even herself— her hopeless desire for perfection: mute, her self-loathing, her suppressed hatred: mute. She cannot shake the vision that in heaven all is not right. Mary hunches over, old and feeble, nursing her torn womb. Jesus, having cured the lepers, had caught leprosy. All the saints are bleeding on the white marble.

Les premières communions: VI by Arthur Rimbaud

Qui dira ces langueurs et ces pitiés immondes Et ce qui lui viendra de haine, ô sales fous, Dont le travail divin déforme encor les mondes Quand la lèpre, à la fin, rongera ce corps doux, Et quand, ayant rentré tous ces nœuds d’hystéries Elle verra, sous les tristesses du bonheur, L’amant rêver au blanc million de Maries Au matin de la nuit d’amour, avec douleur!