22 December 2024

By Philip Kuepper

‘I ferry Holy Men
to a shrine on an island
that, to me, doesn’t exist,
but what, for them, is all.
They travel with the luggage of prayer,
some of it quite heavy.
And for men, most of whom are thin,
and not all that robust,
their luggage is a burden,
a burden they leave at the shrine.
They return lighter, and yet
don’t appear less burdened.
I, too, bear prayer.
But my prayers are
the ferry I captain
to carry people to and from
where they need go,
my prayers answered
by each crossing I make,
and my prayers answered
helping partly answer
the prayers of those I carry.’

(9 December 2024)