By Kerry James Evans

Lord, hasn’t it been long enough? I’ve prayed three days
straight, read Matthew, Mark, most of Luke, and John.
I’ve called my grandmothers, listened for you in every
note of the bluebird’s song, and yesterday I even spoke
to your messenger, walking the dog—a chipmunk
escaping the screams of a circling hawk into a split log. 

Lord, if this is the end, can I have a bowl of ice cream?
Can I toke up one last time? Can we agree to skip the
next World War? No? I’ll settle for a housing crisis,
another divorce—whatever’s left on your Armageddon
Bingo card. Lord, forgive my lowly sentiment. I’m
tired of missing my ex. Since she left, all I do 

is litigate with the walls. I never win. 
The opposition? Stoic, crown-molded from corner
to baseboard. Its argument linear, square. I should
know. I painted each wall an assortment of pastels,
hoping to please her. I didn’t account for how light
shapes a house throughout the day—how dark a
room 

becomes when all that’s left is you. Your Honor, the
defense recognizes it won’t change anything, but I
need to repaint the walls. Do it now, I hear you say
from on high, but, for the life of me, 
I can’t grasp how you made a world in
seven days. After years of trial, 
I still struggle to fry an egg. Who doesn’t? 
Phil Tucker, the postal worker, stops every morning
at Flagg Chapel Pavilion and slides open the door
of his box truck to burn a cigarette. Once he’s
snuffed the butt under his boot, he’s off to finish 

the route. I don’t smoke anymore, but find myself
wanting to be more like him. What’s that about? 

Why is it, despite your best efforts, I’m filled
with this stubborn, juvenile belief that you’ll
return in a whirlwind, halo and all? Lord, if you
can render honey from a speck of flower dust,
what’s your plan for me? I know a bowl of ice
cream is asking a lot, but I promise to wash the
dishes when I’m done.

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Kerry James Evans is the author of Nine Persimmons (Backwaters/University of Nebraska, 2026) and Bangalore (Copper Canyon), a Lannan Literary Selection. A recipient of an NEA fellowship, his work appears in Ploughshares, Agni, and more. He teaches at Georgia College & State University, where he coordinates the MFA and undergraduate creative writing programs and serves as the co-editor and managing editor for Peach.