Clint Margrave
Clint Margrave is the author of several books of fiction and poetry, including Lying Bastard, Salute the Wreckage, The Early Death of Men, and most recently,
Visitor. His work has appeared in The Threepenny Review, Rattle, The Moth, Ambit, and Los Angeles Review of Books, among others.


Once I Shared a Wall with God

I could hear Him vacuuming late
at night (who does that?).
He was constantly rearranging furniture,
opening and closing drawers
sliding hangers in the closet,
banging things around.

I never really heard His voice
because He lived alone.
Occasionally, just the deep rumble
of Him clearing His throat.

It’s not His fault, I told myself.
The walls are thin. These floors
crack at every step. The rooms
are echo chambers. I can adjust.
 
In the mornings, it was silent.
God liked sleeping in.
But at night, I cursed the world
until I finally had to confront Him.

I thought about leaving a letter,
to spare us both the awkward
conversation, but I wanted to
make sure He understood. 

I’ll be nice, I said, as I rang His bell,
but if it keeps on happening,
I’ll have to tell the landlord.

Nervous as I was, I wanted
God to know He’d been a bad neighbor,
that He had little regard for others,
that this universe was something
we both shared.

“I’m sorry,” I wanted to hear Him say,
“I’m so sorry.”
But nobody answered the door.






© 2022 Clint Margrave
Clint Margrave was a Featured Poet at the December 2022 Second Sunday Poetry Series