Thank you Lord for giving me the sense
Not to count much on your existence.
And blessed am I to have the kind of friends
Who do not judge a rhyme by how it ends.
Protect me Lord from snapping when annoyed
My wrath please check with just my wit deployed.
Keep me too from gluttony and greed
Pigging out on only what I need.
Lead me Lord from lustful leers where women’ll
View me as some sort of dreaded criminal.
But do not take me all the way to harmless:
Sexless, fangless, hugging as if armless.
When rougher crowds subject me to their trials
Let me focus on the scattered smiles
Let my cup be never filled but half
Knowing that my heart’s its own carafe
I do not pray for health or wealth or time
But merely to enjoy them while they’re mine
And when dear Lord to nothingness they sink
Let me look at those I love, and wink.
Michael Karson, Ph.D. 