A Patriot's Prayer

I look at my dog’s steady breathing,

put my hand on his belly

and feel the comfort of its rhythm.

Eyes closed now.

November 8th, 2016.

Again, November 5th, 2024.

Election Day.

I inhale

and feel a sense of my patriotism,

something complex yet very strong.

I am worried.

I breathe.

Body slow now

I sense

the strong wind

moving through the mouths and lungs

of the heavy hearted

of the weary and weak

of the despised and the misunderstood.

I am mindful.

All calm now

I breathe the rush of the air

as the hammer strikes the nail

when the compassionate

build hope for the hopeless

feeling the power of spirit.

I try to be hopeful.

All One Now

I feel the pulse of our nation

the steady current

of those who dare

to Unite

to Act

to Believe

to Fight

to Love.

I am free.

Do not take that away from me.

Run, run air with steadiness

through the crevices of the hands of those

who step forward in the name of something

in the name of humanity.

Move, move air with quickness

and slip through

the cracks of indifference

to breathe a life of new spirit

in our nation, our world

in the name of unity.

Come, come air with hopefulness

and fill our blood with the oxygen of clarity

to feed the veins to our irises

so we may see Truth.

The truth that suffering has its place

in a universe

that designs beauty to come from pain

if we let it or create it to be.

The truth that we, eac of us, has

the ability

to address that suffering.

The truth that

A Peace that Surpasses All Understanding

comes from the wind of change

when we toil in the name of love

in the name of freedom

in the name of a new coming,

the coming of

mutual respect and understanding.

Come, Lord,

bring us what we need.

May the New Coming

be carried on the back of the Eagle’s Spirit

of our Nation that seeks your face

in our hour of need.