THE PRAYER


Mariana Caplan, U.S.A.

Blindly, we sit before you,
and though we are mute we chant Your Name.
We do not know by what means we have come
We do not know the secret voice of You who lives
inside, yet still
we come, and in this way we may say
you have guided us to you.
One who is All Mercy and Compassion, please
do not give to us what we ask of you, please
give to us only that which You wish to give.
We sit before you - arms " of roses and oranges,
bellies full of insatiable hunger,
hearts full of suffering and unknowingly begging
for more,
While you sit before us
prostrating, invisibly, to Your Father
begging, silently, that we may receive
a drop of a drop
of your endless outpouring.
We beat you madly with our self-concern and petty demands
While you effortlessly stroke our hand, our hair, our heart,
gazing, utterly, through the bottom of our eyes, if only we can bear your tenderness...
If only we could bear your tenderness we would
fold our hands before you asking
Nothing, save perhaps the wish
to praise you with your song.
We would garland the hearts of our sisters and brothers,
our enemies, even,
and offer Them roses and oranges
begging them to receive
of Your abundance.