Prayer for the New World
Remember
when she closed
her arms
and you,
like a child
cried
for your mother
to hold you.
Remember
when you felt
your limbs
unfolding
in the absence
of her protective
covering,
and still
you were
delivered.
Even though
you trembled
at the loss
when the world
you knew
unraveled
and grew
into chaos
and there was
no boundary
solid enough
to hold it
anymore —
In the absence
of everything,
you cut loose
the anchored
parts of you
and in that
delicious
vacancy,
you felt
the wild breath
of freedom, maybe
for the first time.
And that sweet
fullness
reminded you
the shadow
is not
an enemy —
the shadow
is what shows you
where the light
is shining.
The shadow
is its own
strength;
it needs
no defining —
born of smoke
and stardust
where the cosmic
clock is winding.
The shadow
is a wake-up call
when the heart
needs reminding
that the truth
burns at both ends.
Let this be our prayer
for the new world.
In darkness
or light
may you feel
angel’s breath.
In times
of division
may you find
common thread.
And may every
star-kissed wish
ascend
to where even
the most broken
of hearts
can mend.
© Jacqueline Ann 2020
