a prayer

 a prayer, a night vigil, for our country and the world

sunday poem, nightly prayer, and an online knitting class

 
songs for the people

let me make the songs for the people,

songs for the old and young;

songs to stir like a battle-cry

wherever they are sung.

not for the clashing of sabres,

for carnage nor for strife;

but songs to thrill the hearts of men

with more abundant life.

let me make the songs for the weary,

amid life's fever and fret,

till hearts shall relax their tension,

and careworn brows forget.

let me sing for little children,

before their footsteps stray,

sweet anthems of love and duty,

to float o'er life's highway.

i would sing for the poor and aged,

when shadows dim their sight;

of the bright and restful mansions,

where there shall be no night.

our world, so worn and weary,

needs music, pure and strong,

to hush the jangle and discords

of sorrow, pain and wrong.

music to sooth all its sorrow,

till war and crime shall cease;

and the hearts of men grown tender

girdle the world with peace.

by ellen watkins harper (1825 - 1911)

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prayers for the people . . i pray, every night, for our country to continue its separation of church and state, so that we all may worship or not worship in our loving and peaceful ways. i pray that our black sisters' and brothers' voices are heard and and that they and our lesbian, gay, bi, trans-gender and queer community can live with the same respect and rights we all have as human beings of this world and citizens of this country. i pray for a woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy or not. i pray for our country and this world to find peace; that all people can accept the rights of others to live as they choose in full autonomy, in peace and love, without harm to one another.

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i signed up for a vogue knitting live class with denise bayron this evening; a cables class which went from 7 to 9 pm.  it was incredibly fun and she made sure everyone understood the concepts well and could see clearly what she was demonstrating. she also made sure to have each person introduce themselves and share what state, city or country they were zooming in from. she showed a honeycomb cable and a standard cable. cabling is fun and not too complicated, which allowed for a lot of good conversation. she is considering having a fall knit along for her moving forward wrap, with a weekly get together zoom session. this would be incredibly fun as she has such a positive energy and is very friendly. korrina and i met her at the myak "vogue live" party this past january. she was waiting for a taxi when we were leaving to walk home, and she struck up a conversation with us so easily. she had such a warm presence, it makes me smile just thinking about it.