A Prayer

The chilly breeze pinches my roughened skin,

Harder than the fatal pain piercing my chest,

My last few breaths seem as though an eternity has been passing,

As I collapse to my knees,

I think about the times I bowed in prayer to my Creator…

I prayed for life and He promised me death,

For life is just a journey to the inevitable,

I prayed for righteousness and He promised me salvation,

For good and evil are but moral illusions,

I prayed for happiness and He promised me contentment,

For desire is what leaves one hollow,

I prayed for knowledge and He promised me wisdom,

For what use is language without Shakespeare,

I prayed for wealth and He promised me judgment,

For wealth leads to gates of treachery,

I prayed for beauty and He promised me love,

For love is the master and creator of beauty,

I prayed for power and He promised me humility,

For every oppressor shall meet his ironic fate.

As my thoughts converge in my last prayer,

I pray for enlightenment and He promises me freedom.

I can now smell the earth beneath my face as I hit the ground,

Slowly I escape my cage and fly into His arms,

Sleeping as a child in the arms of his mother.