For the next two days Literary Hub will help in counting down the days until the seventh-annual Irish Arts Center PoetryFest begins by publishing a poem, as selected by festival co-curator Belinda McKeon.
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Dear God, by Alicia Ostriker
It used to be
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I would fall to the floor and press my forehead to it
in moments of despair
I would say help me
help me
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but listen
I am ok
though I just now found myself pressing my forehead
to the carpet of my stairs
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about the waters in the flooded cities
poisoned by oil spills, chemicals, the dead
about the survivors forever traumatized
dear god
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I am alive I am alive
help them
Literary Hub is a proud sponsor of Irish Arts Center PoetryFest.
