Mourning Prayer

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Dear God,

Help me resist—
resist becoming an angry old man,
an angry old man who sits
with other angry old men,
over coffee cups and eggs,
complaining about the state of the world today.

Grumbling about this,
griping about that,
griping about anything
that doesn’t fit the narrow lens
of my own biased view.

Help me remember—
remember that empathy is strength,
that kindness builds bridges
where anger tears them down.
Help me remind the others,
the coffee-drinking, egg-picking crowd,
that those we complain about
have flesh and fragile bones,
hearts that beat with hope,
and dreams as bright as morning light.

Help me resist blaming others
for problems that don’t really exist,
and wounds I’ve never felt.

Please, dear God,
please help me.