Poem: Cheap Requests

Posted byShannon LawsPosted inMadrona GroveTags:, , , , , , , ,
pop-culture-religious
Celebrity prayer candles

The catholic prayers of my father rise with

Smoke from a veladora wick

Sanctuary Series

Assorted Saints only $19.99

 

Repeating parts that turn

In a truck engine hum idle outside

It is not the wind

Not the ocean

Not the rain

As murmurs groan request

Sets me in a day dream.

An atom beat the seconds long

before my creation.

 

A prayer is

an oscillating motion, close to clever.

Monks and Sisters repeat a rhythm played

on plastic rosary chimed by fingernails.

Movement marked by the regulated

succession of strong or weak of faith—

to void—Sung prayers paid to jump-start

the interest of a saint.

 

Offered to You

My ghostly priest

I hold a secret:

When no one is looking

I keep right.

-SPL

Picture 273
My Jesus veladora in action.

#

Published by Shannon Laws

Shannon Laws is an award-winning poet, performer, and advocate for the arts. She has been recognized with two Mayor’s Arts Awards and the Dr. Asha Bhargava Memorial Award — Community Champion. Her work has been featured in numerous journals and anthologies, and she has captivated audiences at esteemed literary events, including the Jack McCarthy Evergreen Invitational Slam, SpeakEasy, Poetry Night, Kitchen Sessions, and the West Coast Tagore Festival. Beyond her writing and performances, Shannon actively fosters literary and artistic communities. Since 2022, she has curated Corridor, a monthly “found-art” zine project that showcases the work of more than 50 contributing poets and artists. She is also the founder and host of Poetry Club, an engaging discussion group established in 2015.

Leave a comment