God with us in the broken

place. E manu el, Yahweh

whose hand steadies and

steers us while we lift our face.

Prayers rise.

We cannot transform a heart

but we can tend and feed

the bodies housing hope,

care for roses, prune and

weed, wash and fold, clothe

the people who inhabit our

petitions.

Wholly Spirit, He is wholly

with us within, animates

our limbs to write His work

in the world through bread

and clothes, flower and song.

Be a maker.

Be a prayer.

Be a poem.

*****

It has been said we are God’s handiwork, his ‘poem,’ a word from the Greek word poiema meaning a made thing. So when we write a poem, it is a ‘made thing.’

Of course we can B E a poem to other people, too, which is what I had in mind when I wrote this. You can find “How to Be a Poem” in my book Hearts on Pilgrimage-Poems & Prayers  available wherever you buy books.