This One is a Waterfall
Chelsie Blair Nunn
the only time I ever
felt safe within the sanctuary of
a church was when I was being
chased by a pack of wild dogs
holy home plate
safe, under the blankets
at night with the ghosts standing all around
the feeling of having a proper basement
during a tornado, that’s the relief
I felt when I ran inside those propped
doors, my parents already unloaded
equipment for the altar
plugging in cords here and there
my hands outstretched to Heaven
eyes turned to the sky
backed against the foyer wall
beads of sweat trickling down my face
or tears, I’m not sure
Chelsie Blair Nunn is a LGBTQIA+ artist and public educator working in Knoxville, TN. She has served as a public visual art educator and mentor for the past ten years. She is a founding member of the artist collaborative formerly known as The Vacuum Shop Studios, where she practiced painting for the past seven years. This particular manuscript is an excerpt from her current work in progress, which chronicles her queer rural childhood, growing up in a gospel family. Her writing has previously been featured in The Quaranzine: Poetry in the Time of Covid-19 (Fearsome Critters 2020), Decomp Journal (Issue 1 2021), and Tofu Ink Arts Press (Spring 2021 Contributors).