THE WORKING MAN’S PRAYER
Let me spend working days
searching for daily meaning
as well as for daily bread.
Let me be recognized
for creative input
in what I do or say all day.
Let me be astonished
by what practice can accomplish
as an Olympic gold swimmer
found out through sheer effort.
Never let me feel bored
and deadened like a catatonic
watching the clock. Every morning
let me look forward to the day
like a rooster ca-ca-doodling.
Help me to make everyday matter
as much as giving birth to a child.
I want to leave behind a trail of wonder
about what I did with this one and only life.