*prayer In Many Forms Poem by Lillian Susan Thomas

Some pray only with their toil;
Others in the course of their day, without any outward sign.
Some prostrate themselves;
Others kneel, hands folded, after making the sign of the cross.
Some pray on one knee, heads bowed in a huddle.
Others bow deeply, then kneel, foreheads to the ground.
Some dance their prayers, dervishing in ecstasy,
While others sway in rhythm with the pulse of the divine.
Some pray standing, heads bowed, eyes closed;
Others, with hands and arms lifted,
as if prayers are launched from fingertips upwards.

And God sends back answers
All lovingly wrapped in the everyday minutiae,
Covering the earth
with sunbeams and raindrops,
with moonlight and stardust,
with darkness and snowflakes,
with leaves and petals -
Each an answer,
Each a syllable in God's language.
Stand outdoors and keep arms open wide
To receive those bountiful answers.