I have asked before And I will ask again: hear me. This prayer is all I can manage, But it rises from an honest heart. Winnow me and claim what remains. I am a fulgurite among a million sands. Sift me and start again with what is left. Seek me and sound me out. Stand at my side as I groan Through my night thoughts one by one. I have kept my hands from violence. I have watched for signs— A bent branch, a footstep, A whisper leading left or right, The next river rock between flashes of light— To trace your path where it bends away. I have raised my voice in hope you’ll hear, In hope you’re real. Now listen to my prayer. Show me you are better Than my frail hopes guessed. Show me you know how to shelter Those who have wagered with you, For doubts and dice rattle here in my head. If I ever needed refuge, it is now. I am not well-versed in violence, But my enemies are all at hand. They have shut their dull hearts And sharpened their mouths. They do not know your name, But they do know mine. Before me, faces leer and lunge, Pallid as bones, snapping, angry. Behind me, claws skitter, blood bright. Between them, I gasp through ever longer nights. Violence is not what you made the world for— It is just what happens here. Is my God greater Than these thousand threats? Rise and round them back. Show them Your love is silver over steel. Teach them the name of the power That guards the weak. No strength stands unbended before you. Bow them. Upend them. They have taken the fattest portion. Their bellies bulge. Their cupped hands hoard spoils They have promised to themselves. As for me, I wake through harrowing nights, But you have heard me. You have never been closer than this. My consolation waits In the lines of your face.
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Music: “Through Valleys” by Flint
