The Moms' Prayer Group

~a poem~

She prays for walls
of fire to surround
him— the image

is immediate— red and orange
ribbons, flailing
and blue

at the base, like a torch 
as tall as the hedgerow 
that keeps our neighbor’s 
house from view.

I see him walking
downtown, in his ring
of fire— he does not

know what she prayed
into being— a shield

to hem him in. Flaming
arrows melt before 
they pierce him— he may be

blind to light, numb
to warmth, and scarred
at every turn— until

the wall enlivens, rises
to become 
a tongue to rest

on him 	         Lord, 
protect her son.

---

~~~

“My unseen labors are not lost, for it is these

repeated acts of small sacrifice that—

like bright, ragged patches—

are slowly being sewn into a quilt of

lovingkindness that swaddles this child.”

~ from A Liturgy for Changing Diapers I, Every Moment Holy Vol. I by Douglas Kaine McKelvey