Friday, March 25, 2011

Poetry Friday: Mark Jarman's Prayer for Our Daughters


I'm not sure there's a word strong enough for how much I love this poem. But then, there isn't a word strong enough for how much I love my daughters, either.

So.

Prayer for Our Daughters
by Mark Jarman

May they never be lonely at parties
Or wait for mail from people they haven't written
Or still in middle age ask God for favors
Or forbid their children things they were never forbidden.

May hatred be like a habit they never developed
And can't see the point of,

(Read the rest here, at The Writer's Almanac.)

~~~~~

You'll find the roundup today at A Year of Reading.

5 comments:

Mary Lee said...

Not having a daughter myself, I imagined my mother saying this poem of me...

Melanie Bettinelli said...

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love this one. I clipped these lines the other day because they are just so perfect:

"And may they find themselves, as we have found them,
Complete at each stage of their lives, each part they add to.

May they be themselves, long after we've stopped watching."

jama said...

Oh, so beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing this one, Karen ♥.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

I don't have daughters either, so I want this one for myself. I liked the same lines as Melanie. Thanks for sharing it!

Karen Edmisten said...

I love that you're all adopting it for yourselves! Yes!

I love those lines, too.

Also:

May they find a place to love, without nostalgia
For some place else that they can never go back to.
And may they find themselves, as we have found them,
Complete at each stage of their lives, each part they add to.

And the line about hatred being like a habit they never developed and can't see the point of.