Prayer
Prayer is the cry of the heart
when things go wrong
and there is no way out
Prayer is the grief
and the mourning
when hopes are destroyed
and there is nothing left
and a future cannot be seen
Prayer is to notice
hills and sea and forest
and pause
care
listen and watch
Prayer is love for another
which feels and rejoices with them
or grieves with them
and which gives time and energy
without cost
and builds up
Prayer learns
to take spiders outside
Prayer is learning to live
as one part of the world
and not the centre
Prayer is becoming conscious
just how precious life is
and then
working out how to give it away
and die
(Andrew Prior 2020)
