Dear friends, 

Last Wednesday I attended the first meeting of a book
group reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Energy of
Prayer.”  These were thoughts that came up during that
meeting. I was planning to share them at the next
meeting but then it occurred to me to write them as a
poem. Hope you find it good reading. 

Hope you are all doing well, wherever you are.
Sankar 


PRAYER
10/07/06

There was a time,
When I was like a rock.
Unyielding, Impervious, aloof.

Nothing could break me.
Nothing supported me.
I was the rock, holding up the mountain.

No mountain too big,
Given the time, 
And the right tools.

The light of the universe
Shined from inside me.
Showing me the way.

Prayer was for the little people.
Self-pity -- the worst sin.
Tears, a luxury of the weak-minded.

And then I was drenched
By the torrents of desire.
Bringing with it, yearning and love.

A thousand plants sprouted,
Cracking open my core.
Their roots reaching, deep into my soul.

And when the rains stopped
The plants dried out
Only the cracks remained, on my bare back.

Then it rained again
And sprung more plants
And then they dried out, once and again.

When it rained I danced
And when dry I sang in gratitude
For the new life, however short.

Tears of joy and tears of sorrow
Flowed unchecked.
Some for me, some for my beloved.

Words of prayer
Formed unhindered by thought
First for me, and then everyone.

I could not control
Either the rains or the plants.
I was happy to surrender, after a while.

To let things be
To accept them as they are.
To trust in the wisdom, of the universal being.

I receive the rains
I support the plants. 
I know one day, there will be a forest.

I am like a sponge.
Immersed in life.
Soaking in the love, the joy, and the sorrow.

When squeezed by someone
I give it all back. 
I feel stronger than a rock.