I have a hard time praying. I think its because my heart is too big for my chest, my emotions more than my body, I start to pray and everything rushes out, and im left there, a raw nerve, feeling more than what can fit in my skin. My prayer is feeling, splaying myself open, prying open my chest rib by rib until I am finally free. A cavernous expanse to be filled and understood. No words express the feeling of taking my still beating heart in my hands, blood dripping off my finger, and laying it at His Feet. That is all I can envision, surrender. How am I to pray in words when my feelings surpass that? What else am I to do other than lay my heart upon the ground and let Him fill me for how can I articulate my emotions better than He can understand them?

-Meditations at the foot of the Eucharist, July 2023

(s.m.)

Panegyrize

A poem of praise to end one week and begin another. I read this latest writing to my husband tonight, and he said it was a good reminder. May it give you wings. Continue reading Panegyrize

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Inspirational Journeys Presents: Draw Closer To God Through Poetry with Laurin Medina

Today, as part of my Walking with God as a writer series, my special guest Lauren Medina talks about how poetry helped her express her feelings and draw closer to God. Listen as we share our thoughts about poetry, our faith walk, and being inspired by the world around us. INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS PRESENTS! Draw Closer to God Through Poetry with Lauren Medina Hello: I’m proud to announce the…

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— A Prayer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

[text ID: I’m only asking for strength for my days. Teach me the art of small steps.]

Gabriela Mistral, from The Selected Poems of Gabriela Mistral; "Poem of the Son,"

A Prayer That Will Be Answered

by Anna Kamieńska

Lord let me suffer much and then die

Let me walk through silence and leave nothing behind not even fear

Make the world continue let the ocean kiss the sand just as before

Let the grass stay green so that frogs can hide in it

so that someone can bury his face in it and sob out his love

Make the day rise brightly as if there were no more pain

And let my poem stand clear as a windowpane bumped by a bumblebee's head

May this month of May be your happiest moment of your life. Where you worry less and finally enjoy yourself with sweet thoughts & remember to be grateful for the simple things in life 🩷

God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

Genesis 41:52

Ilya Kaminsky, from "Author's Prayer", Dancing in Odessa

She is the one who stands with Her arms open,

Ready to welcome those who have walked across the Gjöll bridge.

She is not one to be tricked,

For Her holy name is renowned through the nine worlds,

All of which know of Her power:

She cradles the souls of those who come to rest with the Gods,

And She does not discriminate the peasant from the king,

Nor the humble from the noble.

To Her we send songs of praise.

Onto Her I entrust my life.

Beside Her does the Luminous One sit.

Upon Her is a crown made of ash.

Artist

The Place I Live

Maybe a manifesto...?

Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge Today God is helping me battle against the dark clouds that could permanently keep me from smiling, or from stepping out into a new day. In the morning I seek Him, and He is faithful to be found. I do not look to others, to the news, to the good intentions before my day, but only to Him. He is the only one who can keep me from the darkness that would…

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"The distance between dreams and reality is called Tahajjud."

— a prayer, tathève simonyan

[text ID: a prayer / i look up at God and see my ceiling staring back at me. / whimpered prayers leaving through the gates of my lips, ricocheting and landing right onto my eyes. / now everything i see is tainted with the colors of my pending longings. / a desire so raw you could still see the specks of blood gathering at seams. / a prayer … / a man on his knees in front of a woman, hands on her hips, holding the cathedral that was neither built nor can be destroyed / lips kissing the source of life / lips kissing the source of light / lips kissing / a   prayer! – a body to crawl into! (to grow into?) / a prayer! – a dead language we refuse to let go of, / a language of the dead that we refuse to let go of / a prayer! – Grandpa’s favorite tie, hanging from the bedroom door, decades after he passed / because my Grandma was the only one of us who knew what a prayer was / a prayer! – Grandma: “sitting with someone until they finish their meal is the purest sign of love” / a prayer! – i’ll sit with you till the very last sip, till the very last grain / a prayer! – a hymn to the Sun written by the coldest of hands / a prayer! – a mouth full of tongues that can never find the right language to weep in / Rage, that is love – rotten! / Rage, that is desire – rotten! / Rage! – like a prayer, unanswered, ricocheting from your ceiling and landing right onto your eyes, never quite reaching where it was meant to.]

Prayer to Hephaestus against wildfires

Lord Hephaestos of the Smoldering Kilns—

tamer of the flame and shaper of smoke,

lover of the ashes and crafter of unmatched skill.

i plead with thee to tame this wild beast.

quell the roaring spirits whom consume all they touch,

their greed unquenchable, destructive, and smoldering.

thus I call to you, my savior, undying Hephaestos—

Klytomêtis, Klytos, Aithalóeis Theós—

bend back this unruly beast and strike down your mighty hammer.

show mercy to us, God of the Scorching Heat,

that we may sing your praises to the unburned skies.

for i will remember you with this prayer, and again with another.

Klytomêtis (Κλυτομητις) - Famed for Skill, Crafts

Klytos (Κλυτος) - Renowed, Famed, Glorious

Aithalóeis Theós (Αιθαλοεις Θεος) - Sooty God