I get the news
Someone’s sick, someone’s hurt
Something has gone wrong
There’s something big coming
It could change everything or nothing
We don’t know.

So I sit
And I think.
And I pray
Jesus, God, Allah, Buddha, Ganesh, anyone
Who might possibly listen
Can you help?

And I feel like
I am betraying myself.
I feel as though
I am relying on something
In which I do not believe
Does that make me less of a person?
Does that make me less faithful to my ideas?

Or does it make me desperate?
Does it mean that I am so distraught
That I am willing to try anything
Talk to anyone
Burn incense and make offerings
To protect those I love.

In a way, atheist prayers are the most powerful of all.
They mean that someone somewhere
Cares enough about something
To say to whoever is listening
“Please. I’ve done all
I can do, and
This is all that’s left.
Please.”