Today marks 1,000 days and nights
since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 2/24/22.
Ukraine’s colors ’round my night prayer candle:
a paltry nod to the nightmare
of bloodshed and destruction
suffered by my family,
5,000 miles away…
My family? Yes, my family!
We’re brothers, sisters, one and all:
we share a common bloodline
flowing from the Cross,
our DNA and lineage are royal and divine;
we’re children born of water
and the Spirit who unites us,
who makes of us a family,
the whole of humankind…
Don’t let the distance shield me, Lord,
from what my brothers suffer,
from the loss my sisters bear,
from the nightmares of my grandkids,
from the bombing and the shelling,
from the ruins and the rubble
that were once my family’s home…
My family’s not that far away,
twelve hours on a plane,
to reach and offer needed help
from this side of the world
from those who gather here in prayer
‘neath Ukraine’s blue and gold…
My family? Yes, my family
and your family, too.
Protect us, Lord, while we’re awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace…