Fathom Mag
Poem

To My Prodigal Son

A poem

Published on:
February 11, 2021
Read time:
1 min.
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You once recited the sinner’s prayer
donning a Power Rangers costume
fearing Hell, but
not loving God
 
A freshman
you no longer knew
what you believed
Appalled little sister informed
“You’re going to hell!”
Three days weeping, I blamed
my sin
my husband
myself
 
Now you text
the praying hands emoji—
Your sole request
for divine intervention
 
They say
you can’t outrun a mother’s prayers
(or can you?)
and what about the
Hound of Heaven
and that kid from the Muslim family
who got saved which just goes to show
it’s not all about parenting
And even Billy Graham’s own son…
 
and I know
there’s only one
Holy Spirit (who’s not me)
and He must draw you
 
but, surely
if I had gotten 
the nightly devotional
right and kept you from
those PG-13 movies…
If I were less like a piece
of cardboard
and more like Christ
You would want Him 

Karen Abeyta
Karen is a student at Dallas Theological Seminary where she discovered that she loves to write, even poetry. She enjoys international travel, but these days is more likely found in her Vermont horse barn or at her desk asking God to illuminate her brain so that she can finish her homework. She’s not cool enough to have Instagram, much less her own website, but can reluctantly be found on Facebook where she never posts anything.

Cover Image by TK Hammonds

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