today's prayer
Now
these falling
days bruise,
I follow
learned sleepwander;
5 a.m. brings
half-lit trance,
dreamshaken elm
stirs, buoyed buried
scorpio grip conceals
intricate tentacles
beneath libra
rustleleaf branch-dance,
pretend-reacts,
& when did I become
unwilling roots
channeling oxygen
hold on
hold up
or sky will fall?
one more day
unfurls. if I believed,
once, it was long
ago. Stubborn
morning moon
won't dim, it's true,
your never-
go-out light
crescents
when stars leave,
does not illuminate,
I turned from faith
& no only,
& know
now only this:
when sleep leaves,
hold still, believe,
what is source,
ringed heart
fed by well-water,
waits beneath
returns. well.
you know my clumsy
start, how I turn,
& these dark days
when I stumble,
shake me awake.
By Melissa Sillitoe
May 2009 / Portland, OR