A Prayer for Kimeelah - Laura Eppinger

         

Kimeelah has a sister    

more slender, too many

vowels in her name, generous

gaps between teeth, a giant

in the third grade. Teachers

know her as dramatic,

a diva, legendary when she cries

at will.

 

Though I can’t fold my chapped hands

to a steeple, Kimeelah

turns me into a person who prays.

 

Give her strength, I beg, of

no one. Give

her hope. When parents ignore

her clearest

pleas shall she learn mercy,

mercy, please. Grant her

peace, when what should

be shared is squandered,

from spite. Whoever

you are, bring her

light.

 

I would not wish her clemency

for the kids who sting, no,

no succor to share with those vipers

(could there be intercession for hellfire,

for brimstone on behalf of broken

girls? I’d try) I’d strike

a match at hidden altars

dedicated to any saint

or angel legendary for an iron

will. Give her steel, let her

drive only increase. For the love

of God, grace her, bless her

with wings.

Laura Eppinger graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA in 2008 with a degree in Journalism, and she's been writing creatively ever since. Her laptop screen got cracked during a year in Cape Town, South Africa,  but it never stopped her from writing. Her full publications list lives here: http://lolionthekaap.blogspot.com/p/creative-writing.html