Because you asked me to pray for you
because I have nothing more to offer
because the ghost of your illness walks daily with me
because you cling so strongly to a god who cannot hear
because you swallow loss until your body swells
the emptiness making room for more emptiness
you cannot see how the sky drapes lower
where winter light seeks cracks in the clouds
barely, barely and the oaks standing stoic in their nakedness
tell us what we know, that you need more air
that each breath is a prayer
*
As a dual citizen Babo Kamel splits her time between Raleigh, North Carolina and Montreal, Quebec. Her work has appeared in the Greensboro Review, Lily, CV2, Poet Lore, and Best Canadian Poetry 2020 among others. She is a Best of Net nominee, and a seven time Pushcart nominee. Her chapbook, After, is published with Finishing Line Press. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson’s Program For Writers. Her book, What The Days Wanted is published with Broadstone Books.
From The Archives: Published on This Day
- Two Poems by Laurel Benjamin (2022)
- Four Poems by Todd Davis (2021)
