Blessings

blessings on the tiny flowers
on the side of my path, God, bless
the wild egrets in their flight,
bless the late rains, rain blessings on
my dear friends, the strong ones
who have walked beside me, bless
people who are lost and
confused, bless the mongoose who
just ran across the road, bless the greater
coucal, the koel, bless my
mother, my father, blessings on
my whole family, all those beloved
sisters and brothers and cousins, bring
blessings like rain for the faces of
my enemies, quiet the host of voices,
the conflict and struggle.
bless the artists, let them
thrive and grow ripe, bless the musicians
to lead the dance. bless the sloth bear and the
toads, bless the long light in the short afternoons,
bless the sun and the waning or waxing moon,
God bless Jupiter, thank you for his light
bless the sparrows who play in my puddles,
bless the people who do not understand me,
and those who do not care, bless
all of those with opportunies to grow, bless
them even more, those without, lay a table for them,
bless those who are smarter or more
eloquent than i am, those with the book deals,
bless the ants that come for the food left
on the table, bless the sky and the stars, bless
the oldest trees and the youngest, bless the
woman in the post office and the lady who
makes noodles and the coffee seller,
bless all those in villages and the rice farmers
bringing in the harvest, bless the fragrant
garlic in its rows, bless the abundance, bless
people who are far and near, bless my
son as he presses his face to mine,
as his eyelashes caress my cheek, bless my
daughter to light up the world, bless
my husband to drum and make music,
bless my house and bless all the houses,
bless my sons as they walk through the world,
bless the women who are in their later years,
the gray-haired and grizzled, the future children,
the tides and the sand, the weather, those
on death row, the man crying in the alley, the
lost one, bless them with your hands, coming
to flutter over them, coax the sun to offer its
warmth, bless them with angels.

***

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