How often I’ve mistyped
your given name as Christ,
as if the son of God
had taken His own life,
though in a sense He did
offer Himself to give
absolution to us.

Your mistaken gift, Chris,
was refusing your life.
But you have given me
faith in a salvation
only to be received
if I deny the lie
that suffering is shame.

This article appears in January 2026.

Dan O’Brien is a poet, playwright and nonfiction writer. His most recent poetry collections are Survivor’s Notebook and Flying on Easter.