Prayer Circles Poem by Barry Middleton

like fractal images of hope
I send my plea above
to rise beyond our destiny
and grant the gift of love

the longing is a primal wish
to leave despair behind
so I implore infinity
for all of human kind

petitions spin eternally
prayer wheels beg for grace
and incense spirals to the sky
to save the mortal race

but still destruction visits us
as if no one has heard
and war arises in the east
as lords of death concurred

is this too much to ask of life
to gather ‘round the fire
in brotherhood as sparks ascend
and whirl within the gyre