This blog is devoted to a select group of poets. We're starting with poets from the Ann Arbor area, but, hey, if you're from Detroit, Grand Rapids, Saginaw or the Upper Peninsula, then that is okay, too. We've even been so generous to accept poets from other parts of the USA and the entire country of Canada!
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Today's poem or short story prompt is the word "pray".
I'll Call You
ReplyDeleteWhen I get depressed these days, I call up 1-800-Now Pray. I'm not joking. There really is a 1-800-Now Pray. It's been around for 100 years or more. Someone has answered the phone prayer line twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. An older widower in my grief support group told me about it. Malcolm Start. He had lost his wife to bone cancer the year before. He said he never had many friends and he had worked all the time, so he hadn't developed hobbies. He and his wife couldn't have kids, but she always had standard poodles. She was crazy for the breed, he said.
"Some days that's the only thing gets me out of the house. Those dogs staring at me and running to the door each time I get near it. They were here dogs but they're mine now. They're company, you know?"
"I always thought I'd go before her. I eat bacon and drink too much coffee and I never exercised, except to go with Kate for an after-dinner walk."
I just listened. Listened and smiled. A sad smile. We all have sad smiles in this group.
"I can't sleep at night so I stay up and watch TV. I know that's not good and I've got to break the habit, but I'm not going to take sleeping pills.I don't want to end up driving down I-94 in my sleep or pulling in the drive-thru ordering a dozen Big Macs ."
"Yeah, I've heard about that Ambien stuff," I said.
"But, the prayer line. The prayer line. You call it, any hour of the day, and they've got a person who will pray with you. If you've got a prayer request they'll pray on it for the next 30 days."
"Kate, I'm not going to tell you my prayer, but I'm on day 18 of my thirty days, and I'm feeling a little better. A little more hopeful. I mean, I'm talking to you, aren't I?"
"Yes, you are," I said
"So, if you're feeling those feelings you were talking about tonight. Like you want to drive off the road at a high speed and see if you hit a tree, well, I want you to call that prayer line."
"What if I called you?" I asked.
He looked at me seriously, a questioning look on his face.
"I'm not joking," I said. "Really."
"Well," he paused. "Well, you can call me and I'll pray for you. I'll pray for you then and I'll pray for you the next thirty days. How's that sound?"
"That sounds good," I said.
"And you can use the prayer line for backup."
Catherine Powers
October 2013
Copyright 2013
I like this one. Stripped down and powerful. Anyone who's had those feelings could relate.
DeleteTHANK YOU
ReplyDeleteBell's Two Hearted
I took another sip
and tried not to overhear
Their prayers were answered
he had a job
and she was well again
Bells has an IBU of 55
Just right for me
Still don't know what it means
They must have asked
I assume that
I might be wrong
but I don't think so
I don't want to ask
I want to say thank you.
The Bell's has an SRM
of about 20
At least they're praying...
- Mike Fedel
October, 2013