Prayer

during a thunderstorm

In rain
let the water run 
in lightning rivulets,
the moon outsilvered,
undone.

The gold in your glass
has no fire
like the sky.
And so we live 
and so die.

This is how we pray 
in rain.
We smell thunder 
and turn to flame
with the wet amen. Amen.

Poet’s note: Prayer is a meditation set in my garden in a thunderstorm. The poem considers human smallness in the face of the storm’s wild power. It also contrasts temporal vanities—what we make or hold—with the scale of the world that holds us and gives us life. The video is a recording made during the Amadeus Choir’s Nîpîy’s Songwalks event in May 2023. Choir members moved through the beautiful grounds of the Toronto Botanical Gardens and, at chosen intervals, performed Emily Hiemstra’s musical setting for Prayer (during a thunderstorm). This performance was the culmination of my work with Emily during the Amadeus Choir’s Choral Creation Lab Residency. The poets were mentored by Luke Hathaway, and the composers by Andrew Balfour.