Reluctant Prayer Of Hope

Reluctant Prayer Of Hope
© Surazeus
2026 04 05

Each time she pauses by the broken door 
to listen for reluctant prayer of hope, 
another crow emerges from the book 
with clocks for eyes that unspool alphabets 
while tired construction workers drink hot beer, 
because she waits for her ship to come in. 

Fake photographs from family of ghosts, 
stuffed inside leather suitcase of wolf skin, 
escape from aching laughter of her heart 
to live as butterflies in shadowed rooms 
where children play board games of psychic war 
while ships of slaves sink in electric storms. 

Back when old kings ruled every crowded land 
from castles of aggressive greed for gold, 
her grandparents folded her in the box 
and sent her overseas on ship of state 
so she lives now in small Missouri town 
where she tries to ignore the weeping clown. 

Arranging books on brave library shelves 
in moral order of their truthfulness, 
she ponders how the television works 
transmitting images in crackling air 
like crystal ball of the grim sorcerer 
who builds model ships in bottles of faith. 

These faint fragments of cultural debris, 
that float about her on butterfly wings, 
she slots in expanding puzzle of truth 
as picture that shows nations of the world 
clashing in fierce religious wars for oil 
which fuels our piston-engine time machines. 

Ascending narrow stairs of innocence, 
she stands on peaked roof of brave Jupiter 
to survey sprawling maze of city streets 
where billions of people struggle to live 
in constant hunger for paradise lost 
as robots building cars and radios. 

Sharp cry for justice in the teeming crowd 
sparks revolution of the working class 
who program computers in cubicles 
that weave world wide web of god consciousness 
combining social media anecdotes 
in never-ending novel of success. 

Relaxed on front porch of her cottage home, 
free from bondage of marriage and religion, 
she writes novel about the abused girl 
who reclaims her life with struggle for truth 
to live as true self nascent in her heart 
while jets bomb homes in countries far away.