This Simple Prayer

Let me be tender tonight

and release my hold on the world

that cannot be held.

Let me surrender tonight

and let desire cry for my attention

in each sacred moment

of looking at the flames and confusion

and picking up words with gentle hands

to share in a poem like communion

 or a call from a beloved friend

that chants in earnest to God

and all the angels.

Let the subtle work of silence

consecrate my mind and lift my heavy heart

toward the most holy light we’ve ever seen

in the faces of the others around us

as we become family begging for more.

Let me place my hands palm to palm

resting on the edge of my bed,

quilt soft and colors fading,

and pray the prayers of a lonely child,

I will be sated with simple words

that tell of the truth of love that lives

in the eyes of a stranger

and in the songs of the children

I have always loved.