Disheveled Prayer

Claire Scott

O first blossom on the apple tree
pink hope of—
also the azalea that never blooms
only shoots green leaves
swept up in the fall
praise O praise for the shopping list
in my purse: coffee, scotch,
aspirin, scotch, Excedrin
shaky blue pen
lacing down the page—O
inbox full of invitations
all from me
O teeth worn to nubs at night
necrotic jaw O acid reflux
inching toward cancer
O leached calcium
fragile bones, hip fracture
old folks home
far from the faithful
forever bathed
in the glow of sobriety
O listen to my prayer—
a flask of single malt scotch
wrapped in a final amen

Claire Scott is an award winning poet who has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has been accepted by the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, New Ohio Review, Enizagam and Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and the co-author of Unfolding in Light: A Sisters’ Journey in Photography and Poetry.