See our Privacy Policy
Δ
Gratefulness
May we come together after so many bitter words and such division.
May our minds open to the experience and points of view of those who are not just like ourselves.
May we heal from sexism, racism, bigotry, and misunderstandings of all kinds.
May we have imagination enough to transform hate.
May we practice compassion, empathy, patience.
May we work together to steward the planet, the water, our benevolent institutions, our children, our future.
May we strengthen and expand a political process that excludes too many of us.
May the arc of the universe bend toward justice.
May kindness prevail. And decency.
May neighborliness take root—let’s get to know one another. Let’s find ways of living together without walls.
May we come to understand that we are multitudes, and that is a good thing.
May we nourish the seeds of peace in our interactions with one another, because how we speak to, and treat one another matters.
May we find our place, and do the real work that needs doing, and trust that we each have a role to play in creating a healthy, inclusive, resilient, beautiful society.
May hearts open, open, open, open, open, open, open, open, open wider than before.
Our words matter. What we think about matters. How we address the future is up to each of us—and our myriad, delicate, expanding imaginations.
If you have a prayer or blessing or poem for this moment, please share below…
Holly Wren Spaulding’s poems, articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, Michigan Quarterly Review, Witness, The Ecologist, and in the book We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism (Verso, 2003). She is the author of Pilgrim (2014) and If August (Spring 2017), both from Alice Greene & Co. A passionate collaborator, teaching artist, editor, and poet, Spaulding runs Poetry Forge and teaches for Interlochen College of Creative Arts and elsewhere. www.hollywrenspaulding.com
Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment.
I love this, Holly. Thank you so much for posting. You speak the hearts of many who watched the election in dismay. I use a writing activity similar to this with students of all ages, and another word choice I’ve suggested is to begin each statement with “Let.” I remember one occasion when a student got sent to the office, and in his absence we wrote a “Poem for Joshua,” offering him our wishes for him. When he returned and heard us read it to him….I think that may have been a life-c...
I love this, Holly. Thank you so much for posting. You speak the hearts of many who watched the election in dismay. I use a writing activity similar to this with students of all ages, and another word choice I’ve suggested is to begin each statement with “Let.” I remember one occasion when a student got sent to the office, and in his absence we wrote a “Poem for Joshua,” offering him our wishes for him. When he returned and heard us read it to him….I think that may have been a life-changing moment.
Thanks for reading, friends. The words of this prayer poured out of me immediately after voting. It was my simple hope for a better future. There is much work to do, and I’ll be playing my part as an activist and educator and parent to a little girl, but I think it’s also powerful to channel our imaginations into words on the page. I’d be interested if any readers of this blog would offer a different set of statements, beginning with the phrase “May we, ” or any other that comes to mind.
May we be more peaceful to each other, and may there be no more war.
Thank you for this inspiration.
Thank you so much for this very touching, heart opening and inspiring poem. May your heartfelt prayers go around the world and open doors to all our hearts.
Wise and moving words. Thank you for this poem, Holly.
Write an entry in your private gratefulness journal
This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A.
© 2000 - 2024, A Network for Grateful Living
Website by Briteweb
