I pray for You

I pray for You                                                                                      

I pray for You my soul to keep –

a child again and You’re the father –

I repeat Your name ‘til I fall asleep

in fields of quiet, buried deep 

‘neath skies where no storms gather.

I pray for You my soul to keep

as the horned owl flies and fire leaps

and the wild horse runs to lather.

I repeat Your name ‘til I fall asleep.

There’s fruit and grain, my task to reap; 

I’ll work the boundaries one to the other

and pray for You my soul to keep

free from dread and not to weep.

To blunt my mind’s fretful pother,

I repeat Your name ‘til I fall asleep.

The night’s settled in, moonlight-steeped,

a child again and You’re the father –

I pray for You my soul to keep

and repeat Your name ‘til I fall asleep.

(painting by Mark Hodges)