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Blue Marble Review

Literary Journal for Young Writers

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An End to Praying

By Ryan Skarphol

Let me be a witness to true things—
coffee percolating, summer
rain early morning cigarettes

Let me speak well, and kindly
to strangers on the street
and to myself when I’m alone,

Let all the dusty paperbacks mean something.

Let me know who I am
without the permission of those
who don’t and let me always strive for better

Let me be content with quiet
until I’m stirred to move
then let my actions be sincere

Let me be a journalist
whose subjects
are asphalt and tires
Let me not disturb the universe,

but Let me go always further

whether in chairs or in woods, and

Let me bring back a record of the human
heart that will outlive the beating of my
own

Lord,

Let me have the strength to live without

you. Let me know I won’t live without love.

 

Ryan J. Skarphol is a queer poet from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is currently attending the University of Minnesota, Duluth for English and Journalism.

Filed Under: Poetry Tagged With: Issue 24

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