Prayer for the child in me

Monday, December 22, 2014

 

 

God, I pray for the kid
the ghost of Christmas past
shows me
all this long journey
through my scrooge, grinch,
can’t-hear-the-bell-anymore
reflection.

I pray for how being a kid
hurt so much I grew thick armor …
or was wonderful
and now I’m dissatisfied with
anything new …
or was desperately needy
and I pile up things
around my own children
that don’t make them happy.

I pray for that kid
of long ago,
and for the kid who is still there
under old skin and gray hair,

and for the kids of the world
whose tears I dry
because I remember crying,
whose ribs I tickle
because someone
hugged me full of love
and taught me how to laugh.
Amen.