Prayer for the United States of America in a Time of Darkness

*A Prayer for the United States of America During a Time of Darkness*

To the torch-bearing giant who speaks the words of liberty,

who promises that the yearning, huddled masses

can breathe free.

I ask for the blazing light of truth to guide

and deliver us from the lies and dark days

I sing a song of a future worthy of our ideals:

That we must atone for the sins that built our land;

those that stitch together the fabric of our nation.

I sing of promises kept and not betrayed:

This land belongs to nobody but to all, to itself;

And the ancestors whose bones lie beneath.

I breathe this prayer through words and hope.

And the action we must take upon ourselves each day.

That love and compassion lead us from darkness to light.

That imprisoned children are guided back to safety.

That prisons don’t offer cover for modern slavery.

That we learn to thrive without war.

And that we are the shepherds of the earth, air and water.

That we can repair in some meaningful way our atrocities;

and can recover and find ourselves again, or for the first time.

I make this prayer too:

That the worst of the worst must not govern and loot

a country as great as its people, its land

and the words of freedom that rang it into life, inspiring the world.

I pray:

That the dream that drives us all – to be healthy, happy and free

triumphs over madness, greed and the power of corruption.

I sing to you lady of the crown and torch! Mother of Exiles!

Guide us to the promise.

Shed the skins of snakes.

Lend power to our voices.

Help us find our footing.

And teach us to be free.

Nikki Zang Roszko (2019)