My mother first got me this as a book sometime around middle school. I honestly don’t remember when. I don’t know if I could even find the book today if I tried, but every once and awhile, it’s nice to look it up and read it. Honestly, it’s whatever you make of it, a prayer, a poem, a blessing. While posting this may be minor league (or potentially even at the major league all-star level) copyright infringement, I’m willing to take that risk in hopes that even one person might read it and appreciate it as much as I do.
A Prayer for the 21st Century
By John Marsden
May the road be free for the journey,
May it lead where it promised it would,
May the stars that gave ancient bearings
Be seen, still be understood
May every aircraft fly safely,
May every traveler be found,
May sailors in crossing the ocean
Not hear the cries of the drowned
May gardens be wild, like jungles,
May nature never be tamed,
May dangers create of us heroes,
May fears always have names,
May the mountains stand to remind us,
Of what it means to be young
May we be outlived by our daughters,
May we be outlived by our sons
May the bombs rust away in the bunkers,
And the doomsday clock not be rewound
May the solitary scientists, working
Remember the holes in the ground
May the knife remain in the holder,
May the bullet stay in the gun,
May those who live in the shadows
Be seen by those in the sun.
What Would Jono Do? 