A Prayer Unended

After Pittsburgh, for Auntie Joyce Fienberg

They say souls
of the unburied are
not at rest, but martyrs
go direct to heaven;

is this a consolation
for the mourner or
the mourned? I hope,
but can’t say I believe.

Children make
the best believers,
so of course, they
make the best zealots:

staking mosquitoes
in the sun to die for
the sins they must
make to stay alive.

Now I’ve forgotten
why I prayed so
hard, so I must pray
to remember, or pray

to make something
out of wonder again:
pray to believe in
our parents, partners,

our friends, and rafts
of steadfast spirits
who float a tiny flame
in a sea of doubts.

________

Ori Fienberg has work appearing and forthcoming in venues including the Cincinnati Review, Cold Mountain Review, Heavy Feather Review, and Subtropics. His collection of prose poetry Old Habits, New Markets, was chosen as the winner of the Elsewhere 2020 Chapbook Contest. He teaches poetry writing for Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. Read more at orifienberg.com and follow @ArtfulHerring for poetry and political tweets.