Prayer from a Cistern

Prayer from a Cistern

Nathaniel Lee Hansen

Prayer is nothing less than an intimate conversation between friends.
—St. Theresa of Avila

That’s what I told you
it felt like. I could see
the sky, and you, and
a rope descending,
and a ladder—ways
for me to escape.

I told you through
tears I couldn’t climb
those rungs, couldn’t
hoist myself up that rope.
I told you I needed you
to help, to carry me.

Next thing I know,
we are walking a road
on a plain, your arm
around me. I got you,
you say. You squeeze
my shoulder. I got you.

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Nathaniel Lee Hansen
Poet & Author

Nathaniel is the author of the short-story collection Measuring Time & Other Stories (Wiseblood, 2019) and the poetry collection Your Twenty-First Century Prayer Life (Poiema/Cascade, 2018). He is also a trained spiritual director and works as a freelance editor.

Photography by Scott Osborn