Joan Rivard, excerpt from
"Prophet"

XXXX XXXXXX Youth Group.
It’s a great way to have friends who try to have fun
              without drugs or alcohol!

They welcome me.
Their smiles are kind.
              Back home, my friends were all about partying.

We are clean and attractive.
We help the homeless with muffins and socks.
              I love this so much.

We gather to eat after church every Sunday,
beaming goodwill amid the pepperoni.
              It soothes me, a salad person, this balm of acceptance.

I study scripture. I am good at this.

God loves me just as I am!
I don’t need the toxic punishment
              of medications to be acceptable.

Meds are an attempt to smother creativity,
to stifle passion,
              to grey down my potential! No.

 

 

 

From The Malahat Review's spring issue #218