For you who enter
the room, who measure
the climate, who must be
witness, judge and shepherd,
I pray
you will speak with care
and listen
until your souls fill
with all the wisdom we’ve gathered
in our holy stories.
Erect no towers.
Waste no time babbling
or fortifying walls
between voices.
Mustn’t that narrow bridge
reach across time?
Please strengthen it
for our children.
Let it extend
over sky, sea and land
in sustainable ways.
For you, whose hands
carry the world’s burdens,
whose eyes scan the horizon
without limit
from your summit,
I pray for you,
for us.
