by Casie Dodd

Not yet Catholic, I embrace this sacrilege

and thank the good Jay Cee my son can’t read lyrics when he visits 
Folsom Prison one more time

because it’s the only way he’ll fall the one long beeeep to sleep

Set those strings asunder, give rhythm to our     cry
                                                                                 cry
                                                                                       cries

And as that tough old boy Sue makes room for a fine spiritual, I ask the screams,

Where can I find you? Jackson? Reno? San Antone?

You know how it is to rely on someone else’s words more than your own

Let the words burn into my bones one piece at a time so they can 
keep us straight, turn the tide

Oh love that failed—to become unfailing

O source of my babe’s slumber, keep watch this night

Oh God, please sustain

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Casie Dodd lives in Arkansas with her husband and two children. Her writing has appeared in Fare Forward, Ekstasis, Front Porch Republic, and other journals. She is currently in the MFA program at the University of St. Thomas (Houston).