A Visit With My God Poem by Jim Yerman

I took a moment visit my God today…
I don't usually do this…but I got down on my knees to pray.

I wanted to ask him…or her…
(I use both, I believe, correctly
because in all my visits with my God…
he or she has never answered me directly) .

At any rate, I had things I wanted…things I'd like to see..
wishes I thought important…
I hoped my God would grant for me.

As I was about to open my mouth…
about to give my God my speech
my mind was filled with memories
of the students I used to teach.

There before me...swimming in my mind,
my students were everywhere..
Autistic students, blind ones, ones with seizures…
and students in wheel chairs.

And swimming right behind my students…
this was really quite a feat
were children and people I did not know…
who had no homes, or food to eat.

I saw many people in pain, crying,
I know not the reasons why
but they seem to have more troubles than me
as I watched them floating by.

Suddenly my mind went blank
and I forgot what I had started praying for
as the troubles that I thought I had…
didn't seem as troublesome anymore.

And so still on my knees with my head bowed
as I visited my God today
it was for all these other people
that I began to pray.

And I hope my God is happy
as my prayers up to her or him soar…
smiling and proudly nodding his or her approval…
knowing that's what prayers are for?