Bad Therapist Says - Frances Klein
can I pray for you/you look so pretty today/remind me what you said last week/I lost my notes/if you’re able to work every day, it’s not depression/anxiety is all in the mind/none of it is real/none of it is realistic/why are you scared of a death not your own/aren’t we all striving for heaven/you are a serious case/come every week/bring your credit card/I’ll pray for you tonight/you’re too smart to be a teacher/you should quit your job/you could do real work elsewhere/I have a reputation for being able to speak for God/I can see why everyone likes you/your negative attitude is why the procedures aren’t working/I wasn’t excited for my own pregnancy/the baby died/birth defects/sometimes I wonder if I caused them/my attitude, my lack of surrender/do you think it was me/I’ll pray about it tonight, when I pray for you/I feel like I can tell you anything/your voice is so pleasing/you should have a podcast/or be in movies/or on tv/you should stop the procedures/It doesn’t seem natural/I pray for you every night/God told me you would have twins/I’m thinking of starting a new career/wellness coaching/or life coaching/or traveling the world/you never told me that/not in every session/not at all/I don’t suggest stopping treatment/God brought you here for a reason/God does this to you for a reason/can you write a review for my website/a good one/that says how much I helped you
Selected by Jose Hernandez Diaz, “Bad Therapist Says” is the winner of Nexus Poet’s Robert Golden Poetry Prize, 2022
Frances Klein (she/her) is an Alaskan poet and teacher. She is the 2022 winner of the Robert Golden Poetry Prize. Klein is the author of several poetry chapbooks, including “(Text) Messages from The Angel Gabriel” (Gnashing Teeth Press, 2024). Her full length collection Another Life is forthcoming in 2025. Klein’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Harvard Advocate, The Atticus Review, HAD, and others.
