Infection

by Jessica Weyer Bentley

It has been months of radio silence.
A crazed brain is the only companion,
even she is loud and obnoxious;
anxious without reprieve.
The poltergeist is looming,
rattling every door.
We stuff wash rags into the cracks,
We have been sent to our rooms,
ungrateful teenagers,
forced to ponder our priorities.
God has forgotten us here,
a teddy bear in the rain.
Those remembered have been taken,
the rest of us forsaken in fear.
The only north star is the rise and setting of the sun,
familiar enough to stop the spin.
Jehovah, come back for us.
Bring us in from the gale.
My hands are sore from praying.
These wash rags grow quite thin.

Jessica Weyer Bentley is an author and poet. Her first collection of poetry, Crimson Sunshine, was published in May of 2020 by AlyBlue Media. Jessica is also a contributing writer for the award winning series Grief Diaries and has her work anthologized in the 2020 Women of Appalachia, Women Speak Series Vol. 6 and the 2020 edition of Common Threads by the Ohio Poet’s Association. Jessica resides in Hardin County, Ohio. Sally Lelong is a visual storyteller working in a variety of media that lend themselves to use in a conceptual framework. She lives and works in New York, and routinely exhibits her work in a variety of settings from print to thematic installations to street art.