Learning to Pray: A Poem
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
“The self doubt is crippling.” (photo: Meredith Farmer/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Pushcart-nominated poet Yahia Lababidi wrote us this lovely note: “I’m a big admirer of your noble mandate and the fine work that you do. Kindly find two poems below from my new collection: Fever Dreams.”
Here’s the first of those two poems from the Egyptian writer, “Learning to Pray” — a lovely meditation on living life charitably and with intention:
Long susceptible to the pious heresies,
of mystics, martyrs and other fanatics
mad enough to confound themselves
with God, and declare it free of egoThose spiritually reckless creatures
contemptuous of all rule books,
traffic signs and speeding tickets
in such a hurry were they to arriveNo social drinkers, these revelers
they drank to get drunk, alone
that they might stay that way
sobriety being the only sin…But what of us without stamina
for such superhuman attention
or the patience to stand in line
inching towards the checkoutMight we forge our own language
(until we can speak in tongues)
by asking of our every action
does this, or that, please You?
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