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Image by Joshua Hanson/Unsplash, Public Domain Dedication (CC0).

Published

February 03, 2020

Prayer

Written by Faisal Mohyuddin

Read by Pádraig Ó Tuama

you cleanse
regions
then stand
of prayer

the uncovered
of your body
at the foot
mats facing

the qibla
your cluttered
from the tangible
trances

unfasten
mind
hold of secular
bow down

before
glow of God’s mercy
to a centripetal
of a more perfect

the cascading
submit
course toward the gates
emptiness

here
you can plunge
chamber of the soul
with your share

now
into the most secluded
commune
of the universe’s

initial burst of
housed within the lamp
waiting
beheld

light eternal light
of mystery
to be
five times a day

“Prayer” from The Displaced Children of Displaced Children by Faisal Mohyuddin. Copyright © 2018 by Faisal Mohyuddin. Used with permission of the poet.

This poem was originally read in the Poetry Unbound episode “A Poem for Ritual and Reset.”

Contributors

Faisal Mohyuddin's photo.

Faisal Mohyuddin is a writer, artist, and educator. He is the author of The Displaced Children of Displaced Children, winner of the 2017 Sexton Prize in Poetry and a 2018 Summer Recommendation of the Poetry Book Society. His other awards include the Prairie Schooner’s Edward Stanley Award, a Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award. He teaches English at Highland Park High School in Illinois, serves as an educator-adviser to the global not-for-profit Narrative 4, and lives with his family in Chicago.

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Prayer

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Poetry Unbound

February 3, 2020

Faisal Mohyuddin

Prayer
Download Transcript

Faisal Mohyuddin’s poem “Prayer” describes a practice of devotion. It’s a spacious and hospitable poem, filled with references to ritual and the body, and an invitation to share in the warm light of a household lamp.

A question to reflect on after you listen: What rituals do you use to anchor yourself?

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