Piss Christ to Stare
Laila Freeman
After Andres Serrano’s photograph “Piss Christ”
The Body of Christ is stuck in my teeth,
His blood is staining my tongue.
The best thing I could have tasted,
I can’t survive off bread alone.
I know now scum is just a man
who calls another man, scum.
That life is sipping chocolate milk
in between taking rips off your
neighbor’s crack pipe.
Or maybe that’s The Angels City.
Commodify the crucifix,
Merchandise his unknown face.
Do you have this cross to bear?
Keep my eyes forward — up, I have
Piss Christ on my wall to stare.
Laila Freeman is a writer from Southern California who received her MFA from Chapman University. Her poetry has been featured in Samfiftyfour Magazine, OyeDrum Magazine, Dissident Voice, and more. Freeman’s poem, “Genesis,” was among the winners of Vellichor Literary Magazine’s June 2025 poetry contest. Keep up with her latest writing endeavors on LinkedIn and Instagram @lailafreemann.