Read Poetry: Come As You Are, by Debra Elramey

Genres: Hurt, Hope, Redemption, Relationships

 
Drive north down Highway 301, past
the school where, weekdays, deaf children
run wild on the playground. Keep going until
you see the sign, “Snake Man,” then turn left
into Camper’s Lodge and swing on around
pass the turquoise pool in front of the
Laundromat and park your car. Get out and
go inside – any wayfaring stranger is welcome
here of a Sunday morning, rain or shine.
Take a seat in one of the six pews painted
white as the washers and dryers lined up in

the back of the room. If it’s winter when you
arrive, I’d advise you to bundle up in layers,
and don’t forget your thick socks, gloves,
and lug soled boots. The cold north wind
creeps through these cinderblock walls like
pneumonia into lungs. Soon you’ll meet the
“Preacher Lady” and members of her flock,
the snake man…