Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Ash Wednesday Prayer

At the place of intersection
Where the waves uproot the earth
And crash away, are gone;
At the place of silence
Where the rushing wind is paused
And I fall into myself;
At the place of burning
Where light, unavoidable, streams
And the dark lies trembling;
In this place, hear my prayer.

At the place of unclothing,
Where I struggle with filthy rags
And avert my shrinking gaze;
At the place of beseeching,
Where I account my beggared state
And have nothing in my hands;
At the place of forgetting,
Where the map won’t fit this country
And I know no compass points:
In this place, hear my prayer.

At the place of congestion,
Where the haggling voices drown me
And my lips have no words left;
At the place of desertion,
Where love vanishes in quicksand
And I castigate my heart;
At the place of ignorance,
Where assumptions turn to mock me
And relentless truth stares down;
In this place, hear my prayer.

And may mercy fall like rain.

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