bless me, Father
for I have sinned
lusting
over the woman
at the USPS store
who looks like Raquel Welch
bless me, Father,
I have imagined
our lives together—
picnics by Mesa Lake,
car rides under the desert sky
wine tasting near the book cliffs
vineyards spreading green
under sandy mountains
Father, I have wondered
the color of her morning robe
how she takes her coffee
what she likes to read
I have stared
at her hands
the swell of her chest
the arch of her neck
blonde hairs pinching
bless me, Father
for I am imaginative
and the desert is long
and silent and
empty
–
Chelsea Catherine began writing poetry at eight years old and eventually expanded into fiction and nonfiction. Their piece “Quiet with the Hurt” won the Mary C Mohr award for nonfiction through the Southern Indiana Review, and their second book, Summer of the Cicadas, won the Quill Prose Award from Red Hen Press. They live in the high desert of Colorado where they like bird watching, photography, and reading books about the art of living.