picnic table and other poems

Prayer (with first four lines by Taha Muhammad Ali)

if, over this world, there's a ruler

who holds in his hand bestowal and seizure.

i turn in prayer, asking him

to decree for the hour of my demise,

when my life is near its end,

to say to my grandparents something

i've always wanted to tell them,

to take her by the hand,

and tell her how i've always felt.

to have mountain dew in a glass,

with a green bendy straw.

but, if thats not possible, i'd much rather be,

with my family, drinking my dad's tea.