John of God –
Patron Saint of Heart Patients – “
my students need you.
Forgive their incidental murmurs,
their clotted ink,
the myriad hesitations
of their teenage hearts.
And some days
our old heating system
drowns out my voice, so
Apollina, they need you too,
Patron Saint of the Deaf.
Nudge me, Dominic,
Patron Saint of Astronomers,
if I ever block their view of the stars.
And for the ones who pull their
black hoods down,
bless them Anthony the Abbot –
Patron Saint of Grave Diggers.
Help them bury what they need to.
Lead them East toward the light.
Dear Alexis, Patron Saint of Beggars,
help me notice their outstretched hands.
Guide me as I teach them
three metaphors for hunger.
Colette Tennant has two poetry collections: Commotion of Wings (2010) and Eden and After (2015), as well as the commentary Religion in the Handmaid’s Tale: a brief guide (2019). Her poem “Rehearsals” was awarded third by Billy Collins in the 2019 Fish Publishing International Writing Contest. Most recently, her poem was accepted by Eavan Boland for Poetry Ireland Review’s Issue 129. Her poems have appeared in Rattle, Prairie Schooner, Southern Poetry Review, and others.