Will you say the closing prayer?
Stooped and white-haired,
he nods.
Patriarch, bishop, father;
prayer is the fabric
of his soul.
For eighty years
he has found words.
Same words,
similar words—
always there.
Sitting next to him,
she shifts arthritic knees.
Are the words worn out—
used too many times?
She releases his hand
and prays,
as unsteadily,
he rises.
Heavenly Father,
thank thee for the lesson
and the things we’ve learned.
Silence.
She prays,
Give him words.
Bless our ward members
and our families.
Silence.
Tears prick her eyelids.
Consuming silence.
She holds her breath,
Please!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Oh, Amen,
she offers thanks,
smiles up at him
as he sits down—
Faithful.
Lorraine Jeffery has won prizes in state and national contests and published over a hundred poems in journals including Ibbetson Street, Kindred, Halcyon, Clockhouse, Canary, Rockhurst Review, Naugatuck River Review, Orchard Street Press, Healing Muse, Irreantum, Exponent II, and Bacopa Press. Her first book is titled When the Universe Brings Us Back (Bookbaby 2022).
