This is a Prayer
December 9, 2004
I have mentioned that, for a writing group in Melrose, we have been using a book, Writing Alone, Writing Together, by Judy Reeves. One of the approaches in the book is to do timed writing exercises, where you write freely based on a brief prompt. We have been doing this with great success in our group.
One recent prompt was, “This is a prayer,” and I wrote the following in eight minutes.
Glory be to God for these plain things—socks without holes, shoes that stand up to the rain, eyeglasses without scratches, and a plate of beef stew that is just big enough.
My strong, handsome boys do so many things so well. When my oldest son was a baby, he would sleep stretched from my belly to my chin, burrowing into the warmth of my chest as I too slept. This comforted both him and me, of course. Him in his colic and distress, me in my awe of his mere presence. Some time later, I would spend the night with him in the hospital, and all my anxieties felt so small in the face of how matter-of-fact he was about all these strange, invasive tests. It didn’t cure me of whining, but I do it less now.
And my younger son, so cool and self-possessed, so sure of himself in so many spheres.
Posted by Bill Trippe at December 9, 2004 9:29 AM
