Happy Prayer

How nice it would be if I were surrounded by happy people. I could wear a contagious smile and laugh unknowingly. All of us could share our thoughts without peeking through a keyhole. Conversations would become serious interludes between joking merrily. It wouldn’t be heaven on earth. It would be a warm rebirth. No more lies, No more prize, As all my friends stand in the surf. I imagine an ocean of bear foot people enjoying the foam between their toes And skies filled with stars, the glowing moon, hanging above seaside fires. Passionate lovers would embrace in the night exposing hearts without woes. Children, innocent apparitions, now dance in the sand leaving behind petty desires. Take away adult apprehension, Leave behind childish pretension. Free my family, People around me. End their judgment through religion. Let all under the same sky be blessed and forgiven. One God has chosen: everybody who desires to open their arms, Everybody who gives in to dreams and reveals the goodness born in their hearts. In the morning I shall awake on a barren shore. I shall hear traffic in the distance and see ships on the horizon. D’eja`vu will chill my skin at the sound of a fog horn. Turning around I will drag my feet through sand cold and brazen. I trudge my way toward a lighthouse, A happy prayer now a taste in my mouth, Showing the way to a better day. Tomorrow leaves me less time to doubt. Tom Hamrin November 8,1998