Prayers I Wished I’d Uttered When Forced to Pray Aloud in Fifth Grade

Dear God,

Thank you for Koala Bears.
Amen

Why do some people
not have enough to eat?
Amen

Help us take care
of Mother Earth.
Amen

Why do you allow 
war and tornadoes?
I need to know.
Amen

Thank you
for the smell
of snowy mittens
drying on radiators.
Amen

Please stop
teachers from making
Dickie Lenger,
a stutterer, recite 
Bible verses.
Can’t you see
how it hurts him?
Amen

I don’t think you
would like
what’s happening down here.
Amen

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Honorable Mention, 2024 Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Contest, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Website.

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