A Poet's Prayer

Oh God, Oh the Almighty One,
Oh the Divine One, Oh Heavenly Being,
Oh the Spirit of East and West,
North and South--
You who gave birth to all Creation,
Hallowed be Your Name,
Your Kingdom come after the next
presidential election,
I implore and beseech You--
liberate me from all the motivational
speakers like Anthony Robbins
and all the crackpots like L. Ron Hubbard
and Werner Erhard, with their
mindfuck numb-your-brain alternatives,
liberate me from all the clichés,
all the positive quotes and pop psychology,
save me from all the makeshift wisdoms
and prescriptions for living,
liberate me from all the self-righteous
conservatives, quoting from the Bible
and shouting the Ten Commandments,
while closing their eyes on the endless war
in Middle East, supported with their
tax dollars, all in the name of greed and oil,
Oh God, I ask You with an open heart and
with an open mind to fill me with
Your light and Your clarity,
Your strength and impartiality,
save me from the madness of capitalism
and free market religion, save me
from pop music, cyber porn
and commercialism, save me from
messed-up love that goes nowhere,
Oh God, give me strength to write a few more
decent poems about love and freedom,
about truth and love for humanity
without being jaded and bitter,
make me see Your goodness and Your divinity
in all that I behold and come in contact with,
even those spiritually asleep,
give me strength to love again,
give me strength to dance again,
give me strength to be youthful and exuberant,
give me strength to act silly,
give me strength to write Your truths
like blossoming flowers, to caress and to touch,
to sing and to celebrate--
just the way You intended me to be
on the day I was born--
give me strength to laugh and to see beauty
where others only see ugliness,
give me sight, restore all my senses
that I may dance again,
give me inspiration, give me light and hope
that I may be reborn, that I may smile
at the world, that I may see You in everything--
in the name of Natércia--
the most beautiful girl in Brazil--
Oh God, bring me back my sense of humor
and the ability to start anew...
To light the way for others or to just settle down
with someone I love...

And yes, to love and to love again...

Amen!
 

                                             October 16, 2004
                                          --Alexander Shaumyan