IF THE GOOD LORD’S WILLING AND THE CREEK STAYS DOWN
BY MORGAN BLALOCK
Hollins University, ’16
2016 Adroit Prize for Poetry: Editors List
Dear God who sews families together,
your needle is dull
and I am fastened to a man
and woman who can’t agree
what name is on my birth certificate.
Been three months,
still a day late & dollars short.
Missed another funeral.
Spent most nights staring at the quarry
from the overlook, no reason
to drive home. I’ve talked circles
out of three tickets,
kept no one happy,
and bought wine that drinks me.
Dear God of travelers,
I am not of your flock,
but I need direction.
I want to revisit My Past Potential,
may have taken a few wrong turns.
Where’s gas cheapest around here?
How many miles til
More Than This?
Dear God who drops branches
on the hood of the car
I can’t afford, space heater’s dead
and December’s hit. Light a fire
somewhere beneath me,
minister its flame under my skin—
or meet me near the old train cars,
listen to my Amen
til it breaks with the leftover light.
