Scott Simpson · Poetry
II. Prayer Without Asking
The World We Mean · Spirituality as Attention · Singing · II. Prayer Without Asking
All poetryThe original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.
Poem segment 1
II. Prayer Without Asking
Over time
prayer stopped sounding like requests.
No bargaining.
No list folded into heaven.
Just attention.
The radiator knocking at midnight.
Dust turning in window light.
An old woman counting tomatoes
one by one at the market.
Staying long enough
for ordinary things
to become visible again.
Not naming too quickly.
Not reducing sorrow
to a lesson.
Not turning every silence
into advice.
This kind of attention
feels almost physical—
like holding a bowl of water
without spilling.
Too much force
and the surface breaks.
Too little
and your hands drift away from it.
So you remain there.
Breathing beside what is.
Waiting for the world
to say more
than your first interpretation.
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