Looking For A Prayer

I woke up looking for a prayer, something I can claim...

read or listen:

I woke up looking for a prayer,
something I can claim,
keep with me
like a flashlight in a cave,
or a bandage when I really need it.

There are lots of prayers in the world I know I can have,
but none of them are made of dirt and hope
the way I need dirt and hope right now.

I need a prayer that is a song and a scream and a thank you all at once,
that can rest in the palm of my hands
as a tiny bird
or carry me away
like a hurricane gathering brush as it crosses over a peninsula,
heading back out to sea.

I woke up looking for a prayer,
but I will keep this yearning in my heart
and hear the stories
it has to tell
instead.