As Close As Air

       Prayer Poem

O Lord,

Cheer the lonely soul,

Calm the troubled heart,

Set straight the confused mind,

Be as close as air.

O Lord,

Comfort the grieving soul,

Tame the war-bent heart,

Open the proud mind,

Be as close as air.

O Lord,

Lend music to the joyful soul,

Swell the loving heart,

Lead the searching mind,

Be as close as air.

O Lord,

Enter the souls, hearts, and minds of your children.

Teach us to cheer, calm, set straight,

Comfort, tame, open,

Lend, swell, and lead

Each other toward your heavenly kingdom.

Be as close as air.

Written on Good Friday 2009, while tending the Spiritual Walk at church

* * * * * * * * *

The Common Household is feeling stunned by an unexpected death in the extended family.  I am preserving the privacy of the family so I will not say more about it, but I also could not stand to let it go completely unmentioned.

I wrote this prayer-poem five years ago, and except for sending it to one friend, this is the first time it has seen the light of day.  I wrote it a few days after a tragic, sudden, inexplicable event in Pittsburgh, an event which is still raw for many.

Upon re-reading, I realized that this poem says nothing about the body.  Yet the text of the poem itself is, in a sense, a body, containing words about hearts, souls, and minds.  

Though bodies can fail and expire, I believe hearts, souls and minds can live on.  I also believe that someday our bodies will also live again, but that particular belief is more inexplicable than any tragedy or death.

Peace to all, body and soul, heart and mind.  May you find some beauty in today.

Art work by the Common Household children, in elementary school.