Poetry Day - Prayers for Spring

Recently I picked up a book of Michael Leunig's prayers from a second bookshop, a really nice hardcover book with his quaint illustrations. They are the sort of thing to be read with discernment (what isn't): some of them a good; some of them are weird and some of them are quite wrong. But they provoke thought in their simplicity. So here are couple pertinent to spring. (And I edited one under the burden of blog responsibility ...)

Dear God,

We celebrate spring’s returning and the rejuvenation

of the natural world. Let us be moved by this vast

and gentle insistence that goodness shall return,

that warmth and life shall succeed, and help us to

understand our place within this miracle. Let us see

that as a bird now builds its nest, bravely, with bits and

pieces, so we must build human faith. It is our simple

duty; it is the highest art; it is our natural and vital role

within the miracle of spring: the creation [cultivation] of faith.

Amen

God bless those who suffer from the common cold.

Nature has entered into them;

Has led them aside and gently lain them low

To contemplate life from the wayside;

To consider human frailty;

To received the deep and dreamy messages of fever.

We give thanks for the insights of

this humble perspective.

We give thanks for blessings in disguise.

Amen

Picture by Michael Leunig.