prayer flags

there are songs

that enter my head

and i recognize them

as songs from my heart -

let's call them prayers.

prayers were jobs once

bedtime postures,

words sent into the air

with pictures of people

in my head.

people i loved

and wished good things for

through my words.

with time

prayers became associated with repression.

a way

of acknowledging a relationship

with a less than benevolent person

who sat high up

somewhere

and doled out

sorrow and kindness

depending on who or what or why

you were.

i knew this was wrong.

but it was what i knew.

so one day.

i don't know when or why

i let that go.

and prayers became

a way of connecting

to the big forces -

the big real of what is.

and they were present

as songs

in my head

freely given

and filled with love

and gratitude

for the creation as a whole . . .