HYMNS & PRAYERS

1. HYMNS

we sang hymns at school in morning assembly
or show tunes
stuff from musicals
joseph and his coat

like i could tell the difference
like i even used my voice

the words handwritten in blue marker
on a big paper pad
winched up on a pulley
in
the
corner of the hall

i was interested 
in the handwriting
in the crossings out
in the cramped corrections

i did vague mouthings
my
back
sore
sat
on the hard wooden floor

i found out 
some music made me want to cry

i found out 
thats mostly ok

and i found out 
i needed glasses

school taught me 
those two lessons
at
least

before i was ten years old




2. PRAYERS

we prayed at school
heads down

i was uncomfortable lying like that

thank you space daddy 
for everything ?

i mean come on !

i never shut my eyes
all the way

gullible adults
i would have thought
if i knew that word then

but i did think
how can you ?

god seemed 
no more likely
than santa
to
me

before i was ten years old

from secularchaplain.wordpress.com