The Altar
My grandmother had an altar
in the middle of the living room;
Mother Mary statute four feet tall.
On the table it rose seven feet
towering over all.
In an family emergency
a candle was lit
she would kneel;
pray-
candle flickering
on her face-
lit like heaven
was supplying
the electricity;
so serene that
face
and most often
the hallway phone would ring
and I swear
that family emergency
had been resolved
somehow
someway.
.
Came Christmas
I was alone
with the Madonna
and I knelt
just like Grandma
lit my candle too
and prayed for a toy tank.
Got one too
except it came
on the TV.
America
was fighting
a war in Korea.
My thought to this
day:
maybe I did it wrong
but can't risk doing it again
the whole world might get
destroyed.
Just one of those child fears
that lingers on.
Oh I still pray
but now I just leave
those candles alone.
Apparently
my praying is too powerful
and by not praying that way
I save the whole world
from me
everyday.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
Added by Poetry Lover
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