-breaking the chain at the Stations of the Cross-

the tricks in the altar-boy trade

were passed down

from cousin to cousin,

older brother to younger.
1.

pull the hem of the cassock
away from the heel of the sneakers
when kneeling at the steps of the altar.

2.
a little less wine for Father DiCantino.
a little more for Father Mezzotesta.

3.

after the performance of the mass,

unfasten only the top three buttons of the cassock

then slip the cassock over my head, and hang it neatly

in the closet.

this coming Sunday, I'll need only

slip the cassock back over my head

fastening three buttons rather than the row

of a dozen or so as in a coat.

In an instant, I'll be ready to serve.

then the day had come to council my younger brother in these techniques,

who later found himself on the duty roster for the agonizing performance

of the Stations of the Cross, who panicked and quit the vocation flat-out

before putting the learned tricks-of-the-trade into formal practice; a gutsy move.

I don't fully recall what his explanation was at the supper table that night,

but if it was because of an unwanted advance by Father Pannoni in the sacristy

he would've inadvertently fingered the wrong priest.

whichever, I remember slurping my spaghetti, and otherwise keeping my mouth shut.