from on stage, the plage

09.23 prayers
did you know that there
are some prayers God doesn’t
listen to?

don’t bring the easy ones
not the ones at the tip
of your tongue,
not your “bless me”s
and “watch over”s

he wants those words
you’re afraid to face in
the dead of the night
driving home in your
car alone
when a song threatens
the powder keg
inside

he says
give me the
words you’re afraid to
hear yourself say
and so you run in circles
and fill your mind
with garbage every
night until you
are too weary
to give those voices
a chance

the demons they
buzz like mayflies
in your ears
and you hold the world of
information in your palms
but you won’t find your
self there

not the
prayers you pray
over the crash of
the waves and thunder

bring the thoughts
you can’t bear to whisper
to your pillow
when you lie
awake at night
and during the day

then,
maybe tonight
in the not-quite
darkness in
the quiet of
your own bedroom
you may discover
that it was His silence
you wanted
all along