Speaking of Obligations... (1)

Gazing to the right I see my lost selves

in an old apple tree near the river. 

When they look to their right,

as they always do,

they see into a world I might have known.

Gazing to the left shows me light.

On a hot night in Texas I lay under clouds

alive with lightening.

My children lay with me in the dry grass,

speaking of electricity—

positive and negative energy—

while our gazes were gathered

into those glittering clouds. 

Now I stand and wait for the mercy of rain.
                    (Rhonda Palmer)




(This is the beginning of a series on a prayer said by Baha'is every day.  I love coming back to this prayer on such a frequent basis, as it's really myself I come back to.)