Prayer
by: Mary Oliver
May I never not be frisky.
May I never not be risqué.
May my ashes, when you have them, friend,
and give them to the ocean,
leap in the froth of the waves,
still loving movement,
still ready, beyond all else,
to dance for the world.
That's how Mary Oliver wants the world to remember her--leaping in the waves of the Atlantic, dancing for the world.
I'm not sure how I want to be remembered, if I'm remembered at all.
If I cross somebody's mind ten, 15, or 20 years after I die, I hope I make that person smile. Laugh out loud. My whole life, I've embraced the ridiculous. Because humans are just plain ridiculous. Two years ago, there were government leaders who compared wearing facemasks during the pandemic to the Holocaust. (Okay, that may cross the line from ridiculous to downright stupid, but you get the idea.) Then there are climate change deniers. People who march into public libraries and try to dictate what I should or should not be allowed to read. Others who believe there is "right" and "wrong" kinds of love.
Like I said, the human race is ridiculous.
Here is Saint Marty's prayer for tonight:
May I never not be able to laugh.
May I never not be open in mind and heart.
When I am just ashes, mix those ashes
with concrete, and pour them into the barrels
of all the handguns in the United States. Make
ink with my ashes, and print a book of poems
with them. Let the poems be about my family
and friends, and let the last line of the last poem be
one word, repeated over and over and over:
love love love love love love love love love.
Because there is never enough love in the world.
Beautiful
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