Trinities

Micki Blenkush

Things I would hold again if I could –

Plastic bottle of holy water
received at first confession.
Its cross painted in red nail polish.
Its solemn sock drawer altar.

Saint Christopher medal given by my grandfather
pinned to my pajamas for nights at a time.

The laminated scapular
of some forgotten saint
that I stole from a friend,
testing hell.


My prayers, harried and meager –

The peace of St. Francis taped inside my cupboard.

Help me to listen. Help me to stay.

God of everything in the particulars,
you are a mountain of pea-rock gravel.


A parade of impromptu children –

The oldest trailing a green and silver streamer.

The spinning pinwheel of the middle.

The smallest clomping behind
in oversized boots.

Micki Blenkush is the author of Now We Will Speak in Flowers published by Blue Light Press.  She lives in St. Cloud, MN and works as a social worker.  She was selected as a 2017-2018 fellow in poetry for the Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series program and is a 2015 & 2019 recipient of grants awarded through the Central MN Arts Board.  Micki’s writing has recently appeared in: Three Elements Review, Midway Journal, The McNeese Review, Typishly, Cagibi, and Crab Creek Review.