a "poem prayer"

well, Mick finally went to her hearing [for unemployment benefits]. The other side didn't show up [if you are reading this thank you]. I'm told this should mean she'll get unemployment money. Which will certainly help us out. I'm hoping & praying that we won't need them much longer. I'm trying to write more poems. I get bummed with myself quite easily lately. Which is strange because, when I look back over the past few months, I've been getting way more done than I have in years. Anyway, Mom is improving. She's back to church regularly, & she's able to go to her growth group every week now. [Thank you SO VERY MUCH George Bartha, for the purple chair you bring to her every week!!!! It really helps her a lot] Well, I'm going to finish this with a new... "poem prayer". I'm not quite sure how I feel about sharing prayers that come out as poems. [I'm going to do this one anyway...]

Yahweh,
help me
to clean the years of dust
off this soul
to scrub away
the "dark graffiti"
toxic thoughts
hazardous dreams
corrosive words
the junk of the past
locked in closets
boxed in the basement
stuffed in the drawers
of my heart
restore this temple
restart my heart
be the alarm clock
of my soul
strip the dirt away
reveal
the art you had in mind
before the dawn of time
repaint the temple
in colors
that better reflect
your glory
give my heart
your rhythm
give my footsteps
your back-beat
help my soul
to sing
in harmony with you
help my photos
shed light
on you
help my words
to be worth reading
to be filled with
truth, mercy, understanding, grace
that I could release them
to you
to be used as you wish
in ways
I'll never be smart enough
to come up with on my own
love you,
b.e. noll