Morning Prayer

Fed up with reflections and illusion
I am begging for something real--
To be alone in the kitchen at half past seven
With flour on my knuckles,
The nitty-gritty nascence of a feast.

I want to bow my head, my heart, my whole body.
I want to be completely hollowed
Into hallowed ground, the divot
That Moses wore away with kneeling--
Ash-stricken by the flames ahead, but holy.

Hold me in some tangible embrace!
Cast out the dark; cut every veil in two.
Enter me incarnate, in bread and wine
And weighty waiting, a patience renewed
By reality, a glimpse of something true.

--
Ava Pardue is a young poet studying at Wheaton College. Her work has been published in Christianity Today and The Christian Century and has been recognized by various groups including the Wells Young Poets Awards and the Wheaton Lowell-Grabill Prize.