(I've had this on my fridge for the past 8 years....it's tattered and has survived several moves. I don't know the author...but it means a lot to me as it is a daily reminder to step outside of my comfort zone, think about, and pray for these children.)
A Prayer For Children...
We pray for children who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
who like to be tickled, who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
who sneak popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who've never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes",
who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the dog and bury the goldfish,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunchmoney,
who cover themselves with Band-aids and sing off-key,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind,who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser, whose monsters are real.
We pray for children
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
and never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the car pool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at, and whose smiles can make us cry.
And we pray for those
whose nightmare come in the daytime, who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist, who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried, and for those who must.
For those we never give up on, and for those who don't get a chance.
For those we smother,
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer.
9 comments:
I LOVE THAT...sadly, I couldn't even fit that on my fridge here...it it so tiny that the paper would be hitting the floor...I wish I were kidding! :)
Beautiful!
Tom
anna- i don't know how you londoner's do it.... everything is small but expensive!! of course, i'm saying that from "super-size me" land! :)
tom- thanks for the christian art links you posted for me on your site! i have been enjoying your posts and poetry tremendously!!!
so good to hear from you amy, and your little one is tooooo cute....are you guys gonna be around for christmas this year? hopefully ill get to head up that way....i hope you are well...
becky.
yes becky- the whole crew is gonna be there this christmas- i know motherskylark would love to see ya(and me, too) if you make it up.
What a wonderful poem! I will forward that to my children and friends.
Wow, your posts are thought-provoking! (And hopefully prayer provoking too!) I really look forward to the interesting stuff you put on here!
What a paradox. All children should be loved and protected!
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