txted w The Lord

Illustration for "txted w The Lord" by Holly Thompson. A brown hand with red nails holds a cell phone. On the cell screen are two text bubbles: one reads "bloody bloody" and the second reads "love to the family + pastor mike
txted w The Lord today. give love to Sysan *Susan LOL what did he have to say … What He said was anyone who dies tonight is buried on the hill called my conscience and I am to go there every August to tend the weeds He said every moment you spend fearing silence is a moment I have installed in you with pleasure I watched you naked in childhood and was disgusted then as I am disgusted now He said you laughed at the portrait in Mamaw’s room You laughed at the King of the Jews And for that you will awaken each morning with fresh bruises purpling your flesh until you are all and only damage You will find no relief from your SSRI You will awaken to a sink spewing flies You will perish You will rot putridly You will be bloody bloody he said love to the family + pastor mike

txted w The Lord today. give love to Sysan 

*Susan 

LOL what did he have to say 

 

… 

What He said was anyone who dies tonight is buried on the hill called my conscience 

and I am to go there every August to tend the weeds 

He said every moment you spend fearing silence 

is a moment I have installed in you with pleasure 

I watched you naked in childhood and was disgusted then 

as I am disgusted now 

He said you laughed at the portrait in Mamaw’s room 

You laughed at the King of the Jews 

And for that you will awaken each morning with fresh bruises 

purpling your flesh until you are all and only damage 

You will find no relief from your SSRI 

You will awaken to a sink spewing flies 

You will perish You will rot putridly You will be 

bloody 

bloody 

 

he said love to the family + pastor mike

Holly Thompson is a North Carolina poet and PhD student. She received a Master’s degree in English from Wake Forest University, where she interned at the Irish Poetry Press. She was the 2026 Storozynski Writer in Residence at the University of Notre Dame to support the development of her first book-length collection. Her work has appeared in Mobius: The Journal for Social Change, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, and Foothill Poetry Journal, among others. She has also read her work on Rattlecast, Rattle’s weekly poetry podcast.