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Column 607

Prayer

Intro by Ted Kooser
11.06.2016

Dana Gioia is the Poet Lau­re­ate of Cal­i­for­nia. For six years he served the nation as Chair­man of the Nation­al Endow­ment for the Arts. His new book, 99 Poems: New & Select­ed, has just been pub­lished by Gray­wolf Press. This beau­ti­ful poem remem­bers his first son, Michael Jasper, whom Gioia and his wife Mary lost in infancy. 

Prayer


Echo of the clocktower, footstep
in the alleyway, sweep
of the wind sifting the leaves.

Jeweller of the spiderweb, connoisseur
of autumn's opulence, blade of lightning
harvesting the sky.

Keeper of the small gate, choreographer
of entrances and exits, midnight
whisper traveling the wires.

Seducer, healer, deity or thief,
I will see you soon enough—
in the shadow of the rainfall,

in the brief violet darkening a sunset—
but until then I pray watch over him
as a mountain guards its covert ore

and the harsh falcon its flightless young.

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We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.