To the man with the blow-up Jesus in the yard

A Poem by Catherine Stewart Kennedy

To the man with the blow-up Jesus in the yard 

next to the blow-up Easter Bunny and the tattered Trump flag 

and so little land but on a hill, no less, like a podium overlooking 

the only road running the length of this town, east to west 

and to the river, drawing delight from the children in the backseat 

whose legs dangle from their boosters, who point to the garden of symbols

and all their clanging loaded beside your honeysuckle bush that blows 

yellow kisses to a white rabbit probably running late to his tea party, 

to a black snake who narrowly missed his tread marks by a hare, 

I mean hair, it’s a wonder y’all weren’t blown away by the tornado 

whose warning woke the whole world seemingly at 2am, all of us thinking 

a child had been stolen and wanting to just roll back over, but then realizing, no,

in fact, the winds are coming for us this time, so take shelter, and I sure hope, 

I mean pray, that your home up there has some place safe for you to shelter.

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Catherine Stewart Kennedy (she/her) studied creative writing and poetry as an undergraduate at Denison University and is a former children’s publishing editor. She is married with two teenage children, and she splits her residence between Columbus, Ohio, and St. Simons Island, Georgia. Catherine draws inspiration from place and nature, which reflect her midwestern and southeastern roots.

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