All my life,
I’ve been praying,
Something I have not allowed
Myself to see
Until now.
For the caterpillar,
So that it could become
That most magnificent creature
Capable of flight.
For the sun-scorched grasses,
So that it may
Return to that holiest of green.
With the riot of flowers
Peppering lawns and fields
With reminders
Of what is possible
When we notice,
And even when we don’t.
With the cycles themselves,
The snow sitting heavily
On hidden ice,
The worms coming through
The pavement in spring.
The crickets,
Giving us our late summer hymn,
The fading leaves of fall.
I’ve been praying
With the trees,
Who were born into psalm,
And are unwavering
In their prayer for us,
That we, too,
Can find our way
To withstand the hurt,
Brush past our denial,
And breathe the good air
That is left
So that we may give back
The promise of tomorrow.
I have been praying,
Small as a scampering squirrel
Running between the shrubs
Dividing households
With no sense of borders,
Knitting together a world.
I have been lovingly
In the throes of creation
Praying one word, one stich
At a time,
As possibilities arise.
I have let the sun
And moonlight bathe me,
Oceans take me,
And every submersion
Into what sustains me
Has been a prayer of gratitude
And belonging, and love.
And faith.
For we are here,
Imbued with great power,
And prayer has always had
The answers.
- Tammy Stone Takahashi