Communal prayer is a chorus, but more often we pray in solitude and silence. This poem by Rachel Mennies looks to the leaves for signs of resilience and finds them “more alive” for having braved the dark.
—Jody Bolz, Poetry Editor
THE LEAVES
Be gracious to me, O God, because I languish;
heal me, O God, because my bones are frightened.
—Psalms, 6:3
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The leaves understand what the sun does to them is the cellular network that moves if I study it. I touch the limp to them still alive—more alive— |
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The leaves understand what the sun does to them is make it so for this body Place the leaf in my mouth let me lie in the dark |
Rachel Mennies is the author of two books of poetry, The Naomi Letters (BOA Editions, 2021) and The Glad Hand of God Points Backwards (Texas Tech University Press, 2014), a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
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