Teach Me to Pray

he seldom smiled
even when she was a little girl
and climbed in his lap, pressing
her soft cheek against his grizzled beard,
when her mother brought him his favorite vice,
heavily sweetened iced tea and Ritz crackers;
he was a dour fellow,
one of great judgment,
of small joy
until he came to that place
where death faced him and no one
was there but his little girl, now a grown
woman who has broken all his strict rules
in her own loving ways; she comes
before him in peace and
he says to her, please teach me
to pray. I am so
afraid.

Thank you for MH for sharing her story.  I'm sure I have done no justice to it except for the final lines, which are indeed the most powerful.

photo courtesy of http://media.photobucket.com/image/praying%20hands/SahuShanti/praying-hands.jpg?o=47