A Prayer for Children

A Prayer for Children
taken from a poem by Ina J. Hughes
We pray for children
who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
who like to be tickled,
who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound in the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never go to the circus
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for the children
who bring us fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the dog,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink.

And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We pray for the children
who spend their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums at the grocery store and pick at their food,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who get visits from the Tooth Fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.

We pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep.

We pray for children who want to be carried
and for those who must,
for those we never give up on
andfor those who don't get a second chance.
for those we smother...
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.