Sweet Earth

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

I don’t pray anymore,
I look up at the skies
and see birds flying,
taking messages to heaven for me…

I lie on the ground
and let the earth absorb all the misery
that lives inside me.
I watch butterflies dance
and I marvel at their perfection,
the way they dart between branches…

I don’t pray anymore
I allow the planets to align me
with their mystical powers,
as the moon throws beams of glorious light on me…

I don’t pray anymore
I remember when once I was innocent
and believed in the miraculous,
watching plants grow,
reminding me that
loving kindness is all I need…

I don’t pray anymore,
I taste flowers and bitter herbs
and let them color me
on the inside.
I stand under trees
and feel rooted to the sacred earth.
I let my body
be baptized
in the warmth of the Indian Ocean
as the tide delivers love letters
in the form of broken shells and patterns on the sands…

I don’t pray anymore
I pick wildflowers
and I let pretty grasses anoint my feet.

I don’t pray anymore,
I allow the eyes of children to read me,
while I rewrite my own story…

I speak to the darkness more often
and watch shadows
become lucid dreams…

And when I’m weary
and the world gets too much for me
I breathe God’s name in and out
without vowels YHWH…

I let the sun light my face with freckles
and bring the sparkle back to my hair,
while the wind caresses my weariness…

And if per-chance you see me kneeling
on the sweet earth,
perhaps unknowingly I am praying.
Is that not the true worship of a believer?

This is a re-worked poem I wrote a year ago inspired by Chelan Harkin’s poem… “Susceptible to Light”…and it’s still true. 🙂