Prayer for Time

Days pass and days end Glancing at the sun His beam, his hand of help Lighting our path for the day ahead Mornings pass and mornings end The sun, slanted in the sky Rubbing eyes of sleepy children Awaking, asking “Why?” “Why won’t I see Sally?” Asks a girl, four feet tall “I don’t know,” replies her Mother She truthfully replies Though that is the worst can she can give She is just relieved the scary man let her daughter live Twenty desks are empty today No more afternoons pass and end They hold hands with the sun And the Man who tortured them Their prayer a quiet psalm For their Mommies, Daddies, Sisters, and Brothers They forgive the bullet in their heart As evening sets in A candle is in the dark For when the sun’s hands leave It is for the purity of today A symbol of compassionate grief The wick is silent But the day is seen A piece of today’s sun In our heart And for the twenty who no longer bleed