What Rough Beast | Poem for February 9, 2020

Kendra Nuttall
Conviction

We don’t have much in common
except
I wear mittens, your name is Mitt,
we’re both bred from pioneer stock—
both former robots
shuffling our feet
next to invisible
lines.

I became human
in a church pew. I imagine
you did too. I imagine
you prayed to know right
from wrong. I imagine you
prayed for everything to be okay
like everyone always does
when tragedy comes.

It’s cold outside;
that’s a tragedy.
I’ll put on my mittens and pray.

Tomorrow is a new day, Mitt,
you’ll be okay.
We don’t have much in common
except
conviction.

Kendra Nuttall‘s work has appeared in Chiron Review, Maudlin HouseFearsome Critters, and Eunoia Review, as well as in Utah’s Best Emerging Poets 2019: An Anthology (Z Publishing, 2019). Nuttall holds a BA in English with an emphasis on creative writing from Utah Valley University. She lives in Utah with her husband, David, and dog, Belle.

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