Poem - Young

 

Natalie Young

SACRAMENT MEETING STARTED THE THREE HOURS OF CHURCH ON SUNDAY


A friend taught her how to pass the time: flip through 

the hymn book and add “in the bathtub” 

after any song title: “How Great Thou Art...in the Bathtub”

“Now Let Us Rejoice...in the Bathtub”

“Did You Think to Pray in the Bathtub?” “Know This, 

That Every Soul Is Free in the Bathtub.”

An hour of speeches broken up by hymns, 

prayers and eating Christ’s blood and body (blessed, 

white Wonder Bread and a doll’s cup

of water for each worthy member). 

She no longer sits through church meetings or questions 

her questioning, though often hums those hymns 

around the house, slips holy 

ingrained choruses into a tub of hot water. 

Ears immersed, She can hear the sounds 

of her own choir. The heart’s bahdum, bah-dum

bahdum, too fast for its own good. “Rejoice a Glorious Sound

Is Heard...in the Bathtub.” From a gurgle

to a shout, rustling empty

stomach. Whooshes of breath tunnel in and out. Hard enough 

to simply sit still, then left to a porcelain amphitheater—

“Where Can I Turn for Peace?” In the bathtub 

thoughts thud and whirl. “Come Along, Come Along”

“With All the Power of Heart and Tongue.”

Maintenance of this submerged body 

too tough, too much “Master the Tempest Is Raging.”

Not enough still, small whisper:

“Ye Simple Souls Who Stray” 

“Let Us All Press On.”



Natalie Young’s poetry has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Rattle, Tampa Review, Tar River Review, Green Mountains Review, South Dakota Review, Terrain.org, and others. She is a founding and managing editor for Sugar House Review. Natalie is half Puerto Rican and half Brigham Young. NatalieYoungArts.com