(26 Prayers to St. Peter)
440 · 3 July 03
1. Watch over us, we stand on edges of the world dreaming of walking away.
2. Watch over us, we are sentinels who have forgotten where we live, or learned too well to doubt.
3. Give us moments of isolation.
4. Give us moments of release.
5. Show us the lines between distraction and joy.
6. Prepare us to face adversity.
7. Give us once chance, every day, to imagine one other person's sorrow.
8. Help us remember that history is our wisdom.
9. Reward us when we excel.
10. And be patient when we fail.
11. Teach us to love as well as we hate.
12. Remind us that when we must wait, we can wait together.
13. Don't misconstrue our tributes.
14. Don't expect us to believe when we can wonder.
15. Know that we have our own lives, and you are only here with us on unusual days.
16. Learn what we need, and what keeps us apart.
17. Elicit our own divinity.
18. And demur gracefully when we celebrate ourselves in your image.
19. You are never the real hero of our parades.
20. But sit with us through the hopeless instants.
21. And know that what we do to each other is out of your control.
22. Watch over us. Some of this is for your amusement.
23. But most of it has its own delirious logic.
24. Watch over us when we are brave enough to stand alone in crowds.
25. But leave us to our own realizations.
26. Watch how we manage to live, and learn whatever you can for your next time.