workers’ prayers continued but no change
their loads grew as poverty did
as more died death smiled broadly
but some asked questions about life
prayers
the book of dying 1:6…
and so people fell on knees
prayed all day for the dead
but the dead did not pray
nor speak words nor did god
prayer or staged devotion…
after so much
dialogue
about prayer
this
past week
i was wondering
what
aunt bea
thought
about
all this
public
combat
on
religious observances
so
i stopped by
on
my way home
from
work
she said
public prayer
lets folks
know
you
have something
in
common
with them
or
serves
as
a
how great i art
vulgar
marketing ploy
but
private prayer
lets you
have
an uninterrupted conversation
with
the divine
it makes
folks
feel
better
to
have expressed
what
is already known
one thing’s for sure
prayer
for
power
is not
the same
as
the
power
of
prayer
request…
i’m not certain
which
deity
is going
to
respond
and
i
honestly
don’t
care
i’d just
like
for once
to
have
a
response
so
here we go
dear
what’s your name
i
would like
to
request
an
end
to the senseless slaughter
of
children
if
grownups
want
to wipe each other
off
the face
of
the planet
then
let it be
but
raping the life breath
from
children
should be
banned
by
you
dear
fill-in-the-blank deity
a
gender
neutral
title
and
honorific
implied
you
needn’t
respond
directly to me
i’m
not
a priest
or
particularly wise man
just
a concerned
citizen
having lost my voice…
what prayers
should
be said
to wash away
the
blood stains
from
a child’s clothes
and
will those same prayers
breathe life
into
lifeless forms
forms
broken
from
life’s mosaic
by
brutal blows
from
human greed
a greed
making
void
prayers
that
a child
once again
can
feel
a parent’s touch
and
giggle with joy
over
simple songs
sung
as
night
embraces
consciousnesses
what
celestial words
will be heard
by
the gods
to end
these
nightmares
called
war
and the throne game continues…
tonight
when you’ve finished
bathing
your child
and
tuck them
into
their warm bed
as
they cuddle
their
security
blanket
or
toy
please
add to your prayers
of
thanksgiving
a prayer
of
last rites
for
a teenage soul
the fifth child
to
be sacrificed
for
political showmanship
while
under
the care
of
border patrol
it needn’t
be a long prayer
for
it was
a short life
could i get something more specific…
personally
honey
i
think god
should have
one of those
call waiting services
the kind that
tells you
when
your call
might be answered
you
know
your
position
in the queue
that
lets you
estimate
when
your call
or
prayer
will be answered
only problem
is
that
thing
about
one day
is
to the lord
as
a
thousand years
one
can only
guess
what the timeframe
would be
when
they say
your call will be answered
in
the order received
you are currently
13th
in line
wait time
is currently
ten minutes
