"PRAYER TO THE VOID" by Ashley Hughes

Photo Credit: Casey Broadwater

Let what is dead remain dead-
no longer a distorted creature
that hides under my bed.
Broken promises in a book I've read,
a prayer a million times I've said.
Let the people from my past stay there,
never to darken my home so bare
keeping hostage all the secrets I shared.
Friends who were like family once.
Their only concern was keeping score
of souls they saved or souls that burned.
I wonder if I'll always be this confused.
I don't even know who I'm praying to.

Ashley is a self proclaimed Swiftie and history lover (in that order). She always dreamed she would write historical fiction, but found herself falling love with poetry during the pandemic. Through the online poetry group Gather, Ashley has been able to use poetry to explore the layers of growing up in a high control religion and cult. She has been published in the 2025 Gather Anthology and in the Upon Learning Anthology curated by Alex Dawson. She lives in South Carolina with her partner, two children, and two dogs. When she isn’t writing, she can be found with a book in her hand and Taylor Swift on the speaker. She can also be found on Instagram @ashhug_ and on her substack called Cult Following.