{"id":2348,"date":"2017-08-04T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T04:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2348"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:46:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:46:59","slug":"aug-4-grandmother-loans-out-guardian-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2017\/08\/04\/aug-4-grandmother-loans-out-guardian-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Aug 4 — “Grandmother loans out guardian angels”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday, August 4, 2017<\/p>\n

Last night my sibs and I all called each other. \u00a0 Mary called to tell me that Bill\u2019s intimate friend of 60 + years had died on the golf course, a loss for all of us, deeper for Bill, and deeper still because Chuck\u2019s Sue is now left without him. \u00a0 I tried to reach Bill 3 times with no luck; one or another of his six children were with their dad. \u00a0So I called Midge out in Nevada and we talked a while. \u00a0Then Midge & Jim\u2019s daughter Terri came walking over from her house next door. \u00a0While we talked, I got to thinking of one of Terri\u2019s poems; \u201cflint hard\u201d one poet critic described them. \u00a0For me, she\u2019s in the same company with Denise Levertov or W. H. Auden or Joy Harjo.<\/p>\n

Finally, I slipped a call in to Bill between his childrens\u2019. \u00a0We talked about loss and love. \u00a0These conversations were followed by phone time with another soul friend while she drove home after a day with her husband during a long hip surgery. \u00a0 Such strong family time with loves in my life. \u00a0These last days, too, I have listened to four or five deep demanding stories from other close friends whose kinship has been woven into my life for years. \u00a0Takes my breath away this Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Yes, the wider world requires attention beyond our close joys and griefs and vigils. \u00a0 The world offers us baseball games, mean violence, grinding poverty and political turmoil. \u00a0 Worrisome news too of relentless, physically dangerous heat in this country, and places across the planet. \u00a0 \u00a0The wide world.<\/p>\n

In my work world,\u00a0this Friday marks the end of the first week after summer time. \u00a0 During my morning prayer, \u00a0while I looked for a strong poem, one from my niece caught my attention. \u00a0 Perhaps it will catch yours too.<\/p>\n

Best to read the poem out loud, with pauses. \u00a0 Have a blest weekend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john st sj<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prayers That Mean Something<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grandmother loans out guardian angels.
\nShe is generous with them, always
\nhas an extra.\u00a0 I suppose she\u2019s been
\ncollecting them, maybe inheriting them,
\none every five years or so,
\nfrom loved ones gone.<\/p>\n

If my need is truly great, she sends two or three, or
\none of her best, my grandfather\u2019s
\nor her own.\u00a0 She
\ngrips my hand, without
\nfragility, tells me,
\n\u201cYou are good\u201d and
\nit means just that.<\/p>\n

When Grandmother says she\u2019ll pray for something,
\nit is wise to have faith. For her,
\neven wishbone wishes come true.<\/p>\n

Her prayers are long,
\ninclude every grandchild by name.
\nShe prays, \u201cDear Lord, for what is best…\u201d
\nand it is not less to be one
\nof so many grandchildren, for
\nher prayers have strength.<\/p>\n

And she prays,
\n\u201cDear God, thank you that I still am able,\u201d as
\nshe hangs wet clothing between
\ntwo trees older than she, but
\nless gnarled.<\/p>\n

And I, without any gods, pray too, pray,\u00a0 dear god dear
\ngod, dear
\nthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou<\/p>\n

that she still is able.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

North west shore of Lake Michigan with whitecaps – \u00a0 July 27, 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday, August 4, 2017 Last night my sibs and I all called each other. \u00a0 Mary called to tell me that Bill\u2019s intimate friend of 60 + years had died on the golf course, a loss for all of us, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2350,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348\/revisions\/2350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}