free bleed and deep breath
prayer for the angel of small death
prayer for the saint of a thousand cuts
and of course, a prayer for us
cold teeth and damp hands
prayer for the god of self-destructive demands
prayer for the patron of repeating cycles
and of course, a prayer for our child
weak tea and tv on mute
prayer for the mother of low-hanging fruit
prayer for the icon of held grudges
and of course, a prayer for my beloved
all we ask of thee
a simple boon, prayer-receiver,
for the unworthy
that’s us of course
the lowly
the slowly dying
and those in a hurry
make us worse, please
let us wallow in your kingdom
forever unsatisfied hungry and undone
for you are the greatest
and the greatest of these is love
Bethany White (she/her) is a sapphic Pisces from rural North Texas. She currently writes from New England and can be found on Substack as @bethanywhitewrites. Her work has appeared in Screen Door Review and is set to appear in Red Rock Review Literary Journal.
