Dear Marshall,
I prayed for you in 1999, legit offered you up in a request at Bible study. I didn’t actually hear an Eminem song till later—the one about the trailer park girls—yet back then in my living room with other young married couples, I prayed for your salvation.
I forgot to notice you for a decade, exchanged friend groups for new ones, and you went to rehab. When a homie slid Relapse into my CD player, I took myself to Best Buy to get my own copy.
You presided over morning joy and were loud over hours of sex. I won’t ask how getting gospel-saved worked out. Just wanted you to know I prayed for you when we were both young and understood the world in one dimension. Maybe you felt God’s hand over the years. I hope you’ve settled into life, wiser than before we were vintage, grateful to still be alive for now.
With much respect,
Catherine
©2024 Catherine Zickgraf All rights reserved.
Two lifetimes ago, Catherine performed her poetry in Madrid. Now her main jobs are to write and hang out with her family. Her work has appeared in Pank, Deep Water Literary Journal, and The Grief Diaries. Her chapbook, Soul Full of Eye, is published through Kelsay Books.
Find her on twitter @czickgraf. Watch/read more at http://www.caththegreat.blogspot.com