by Mallory Nygard

Devour me, O Lord
and drown me. 

Demolish my future
and crush me 
under your gaze. 

Trample the litter
I leave in my wake
and shatter
my sense of myself. 

Wrack my breath
and raze my fears. 
Sink your sharp teeth
into my flesh. 

I dare you, O Lord,
draw me in 
and consume me
like I have consumed you. 

Heap on me the life
that can only be lived
in the space left
by surrender.

Mallory Nygard lives and writes in East Tennessee. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith, North Dakota Quarterly, Ekstasis, Amethyst Review, Pigeon Parade Quarterly, and Ever Eden Literary Journal. Her poem “Song of Sarajevo” was named Best in Show at the 2021 Rehumanize International Create | Encounter. Her first collection of poetry, Pelican, was released in 2021.

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