Unholy Sonnet Mark Jarman In this sonnet, a man is sits through a catholic mass, praying, singing hymns, listening to the sermon, and took communion. He is nervous and uneasy. "...after the hand-wringing..." (687) He lets his mind wander for a time while noticing the shafts of light through the window, revealing particles of dust dancing over in the sanctuary, this still does not take the pain away. So he confesses, but he still feels the …showed first 75 words of 262 total…

…showed last 75 words of 262 total…of murder. A Communal is a confession of sins. He took a stab at trying to relieve his guilty conscience by confessing his sin of murder, but he didn't understand that confessing would not atone for what he had done. His conscience still plagued him. Since this was the result, the statement "communal stab," was totaly accurate. He took a stab - chance that if he confessed, he would find relief from his tormented soul.