It was a war-torn yesterday
Sometimes I still wake up
And forget to pray
Pray for the living
The souls who made it through
Pray for the dying of the fears,
The sacrifice that blew through us
Pray for the waters that rinsed us clean
Pray for the loss of damn near everything
So we can breath this fresh air
Sometimes I wake sad
Because I remember
Prayers are not requests
They are thank yous
And I still carry the scars of desperation that is wanting by nature
But in truth, in sweet everlasting truth,
I am desperate for nothing
I want for nothing, and never was I in need,
Because this love was in me all along
And these scars?
They are only reminders
That I am responsible
And when the day comes,
It has me holding hands with my sisters and my brothers
And I can feel the circuitry
I can taste the music on my tongue
And we stand in this circle
And we pray for this fire that lights our faces
And ignites our smiles
And gives us the gift of each other
We pray for the morning
We pray that our hearts have won
We pray that we are not singular,
But one
And “I” is not a burden
We must bear anymore
© H. Hennenburg, 10 March 2019.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2019 H. Hennenburg
This is lovely, a wonderful complement to the image and a perfect benediction for the day.
Thank you, Chrissa. 🙂
This is beautiful. I like very much the idea that prayers are not requests but thank yous. And indeed we all have so much to be thankful for that our prayers could take hours!!! And stretch into days. We have to remember to look at the good things in our lives and to look at all of creation with a prayerful consideration. Really a meditative write.
Thank you so much, Mary. I wonder what would happen, what would be different, if we availed ourselves of those hours and days of gratitude.
Oh my goodness. I wish i had written this! I want to walk enough beaches to reclaim that oneness……dampened now by the weight of climate crisis. My friend Valerie, whose entire life has been spent as an environmental activist, once said: Mother Earth can feel your pain. Let her feel your joy too. Yes. I especially love “prayers are not requests. They are thank yous”. I so agree. All my prayers are thank yous in the beautiful place i am living.
“Let her feel your joy too.” I love that. I am always telling my clients, we learn as much from joy as we do from pain. We just don’t tend to pay attention to what our joy teaches us. But I truly believe that is where the most brilliant answers lie.
This is wonderful, and I also think with prayers like this I might be praying, and believing in the power of us…
when “I” is no longer a burden.
Thank you, Bjorn!
I always try to remember to say thank you before putting an intention out into the universe. I tend to believe the power of us will no longer carry the burden of “I”. A thought provoking piece for a Sunday afternoon.
Thank you. And yes, I think “we” is the way.
Together we are many, together we are one. A beautiful poem.
Thank you so much, Vivian.
Amen! This should be read at a community event. So healing.
Much appreciated, Colleen!
This is so evocative. When “I” is no longer a burden. Yes, indeed 🙂
Thank you, Sanaa!
This is truly lovely!
Thank you, Linda!
That last stanza… swoon!
Thank you, Margaret!
“Prayers are not requests. They are thank yous.” Yes!
Gratitude, I think, is highly underrated in western society and without it, entitlement and self-interest seem to rear up to fill the void. When we are grateful for what we have, we stop obsessing about what we don’t have … that somebody else does. That’s when people truly come together.
Yes! So well said, Wendy. Thank you!
An endearing poem, with the guidance of what we should be thankful for!
Bravo~
Thank you, Ella!
That is so sweet… and yes prayers can only be gratitude not requests!!!
Thank you, Rajani!
I love how you have expanded the story in this poem – from the title to the parting lines
So much appreciated, Jae!
Wow! You had me at the title, and it just got better and better from there, up to that beautiful, perfect ending.
I wish I’d written it, too. 🙂
Thank you so much, Rosemary!
O to be blessed by being relieved of the burden of “I”.
It’s quite something to imagine, isn’t it?
I like the way the poem progresses, as if the subject really was just waking up and reminding themselves nightmares have no power during the day. And I love how it opens itself up to joy climaxing in the declaration that comes in the last two lines. Prayers of gratitude are the most natural things in the world surrounded by so much joy.
Thank you, Rommy. I love your take on my poem. 🙂
Scars are artful reminders we carry with us, mementos that never let us forget of the terrors we’ve survived. They are songs carved in flesh. And I agree, knowing our melody is part of a symphony makes the music so much more powerful (and soul-feeding).
This is wonderful.
Beautiful thoughts. Thank you, Magaly!