the world is my prayer mat

this morning on bahía san carlos
fat doves strut along imagining family matters
prayer flags release into the breezy sonoran waltz
frivolous wrens flirt with little yellow flowers
as the sky greets sea with open embrace

while crisp blue sky is decorated with fluffy white sculptures
a fisherman and his tiller nestle like twins into the wind
a newborn seal pup wonders into the wind ignoring
a squabble of seagulls who continue their discussion
arguing into the fearless northwesterlies

in some distant place a frightened neighbor shelters
a youngster from the burning rath of a bomb,
broken families sob at graves of children shot in schools,
starving hearts and tummies turn toward hollow days
with dried up gardens and empty shopping bags,

but the sun rises again, i turn toward the wide world,
heart moaning with what might-have-beens
give deep gratitude for earth’s innocence
and bow low to horizon’s passionate gift of hope
with a simple prayer, may there still be time

Sharon Lopez Mooney, poet, retired Interfaith End-of-Life Chaplain, received: a ’79 California Arts Council Grant for rural poetry series; a “Best of the Net” nomination, “Peseroff Prize” finalist, & two other publisher’s honors. Mooney’s book is slated for publication in ’24, and her poems are in national and international publications.