Our sufferings bring acceptance, acceptance brings hope:
and our hope will not deceive us, for the Spirit has been poured into our hearts.
It is through the same Spirit that we pray:
– Stay with us, Lord, on our journey.
Universalis Prayer
He cannot simply get out
of his hospital bed
without two nurses, our hovering,
the belt that is buckled around
to lead him
where he does not want to go:
the steep and slippery climb
out of the ravages
of 86 years, the stroke,
his diminishing frame.
There is only so much fight left now.
It little flares
like the ember-rubble of a burnt house
where you once stormed
through the inferno
as a great Fire Chief
saving what life you could
where you did not want to go.
Cynthia, this is an intense piece. I'm glad you are writing during this time and place and season of your life. The universalis prayer is awesome and the photo is stunning. But what I especially like is the shift from third person (him) to second person (you) at the end. For me, this reveals an intensity, an interplay and a perhaps a struggle between self as an observer who watches, notices, reflects, processes and contemplates, and self as an active participant who feels, and loves, responds, and tends. Also, tying one's life's work to one's life's ending through the phrase "does/did not want to go" is jarring and profound. And the fire/flame/embers metaphor is perfect. Great work. Many blessings to you....
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