Alec Solomita’s fiction has appeared in the Southwest Review, The Mississippi Review, Southword Journal, and The Drum (audio), among other publications. He was shortlisted by the Bridport Prize and Southword Journal. His poetry has appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, Gnashing Teeth Publishing, The Galway Review, Bold + Italic, Litbreak, Subterranean Blue Poetry, The Blue Nib, Red Dirt Forum, and elsewhere. His chapbook, “Do Not Forsake Me,” was published in 2017 and is still available at Finishing Line Press and Amazon. His first full-length book of poetry was published last April by Kelsay Press. He’s working on another. He lives in Massachusetts.

Soul

What do you fear more,
pain or shame?
On the playing field,
a soccer ball in the testicles
or a breeze driving your skirt
above your waist.

I went to a wedding
as a young man
in Chicago.

Not having any shoes
or much dough,
I went to a secondhand store
and picked up a pair of nice
black ones, not too scruffy.

It was a Catholic wedding
and for some ritualistic reason
I forget, we were taking
communion. I knelt at
the altar with the others.
As pious looking as
I could manage, I received
Our Lord.

After the Mass, I noticed
A certain amount of glee
in the eyes of my friends.
“What!?” I finally asked.

There was a kind of silence
until my best pal said,
“You should check
the condition of your soul
before taking communion.”

It was only when I was
changing for the party
that I saw on the sole
of each shoe, in big black marker,
“$5.00 a pair.”