CCD

I will go to church

But only because
I have a crush

On my CCD teacher

He is the son

Of Farmer Henderson

The handsomest farmer

In the county

Mr. Henderson Jr

Likes to be called

By his first name--

Walter

Walter Henderson

Is a mere nine years

Older than me

And at the age of fifteen

I’m already a year older

Than my sister

Who was married off last year

To the hog farmer

Who lives on the state line

Because his wife died

In an unfortunate

Milking accident

I had to take CCD late

Because in my younger years
My parents were convinced

I was possessed

By the demon

Summoned by senile grandfather

And they confined me

To the back shed

Where I took to making collages

Out of old copies

Of my mother’s Women’s Day magazines

By the time they felt

It was safe

To let me back in public

I had a pasty complexion

And a lust that could not be quelled

The idea that church
Could heal me

Was a popular one

But first thing

They set me down in the classroom

In the building’s basement

Where in walked
Walter Henderson

And I thought perhaps

The fourth exorcism didn’t take after all

Because my eyes latched

Onto his rippling biceps

And the way he’d spit tobacco

Into a white envelope

And then fold it up

And tuck it in his pocket

As though he were planning

On mailing it

At a later date

He taught me about many things

Over the course of the seven weeks

Leading up to my confirmation

Wherein I swore God into my life

And swore out the devil

Some were tenets of my faith

And others were about

How to avoid staring too long

At a man in a tight pair of jeans

Oftentimes, Walt would come

Right from the fields

His boots muddy

His hair tousled

His sack filled with corn

That he handed out

To the class

If we were able to correctly name

All the Apostles

It was easy for me

Because I’ve always been good with names

And also

I would assign each Apostle

A nickname

That would help me recall

Their actual name

For example, in my head,

St. Peter was--

Peter the Pretender

Because he pretended he didn’t know Christ

Three times

Just like how I pretended

I didn’t know my father

That time he came to pick me up from school

In that tractor

When the CCD session ended

We had a little party

With Kool-Aid and cookies

In the shape of a cross

Made by Walt’s mother

And I took the moment

To pull the Junior Henderson aside

And tell him

That I thoroughly enjoyed

His instruction

He put his hand on my shoulder

Looked me dead in the eyes

And said--

‘Is there a reason

You’re not married yet?’

A proposal

Do you believe it?

Of course later

I would understand

That he was speaking

About me
Marrying a woman

But in that instance

I thought Jesus

Really had

Heard

My prayer