Rules of Prayer
When the miners were lost
the rules of prayer changed.
The words "daily bread" became "darkness."
"Glory" became "suffocation."
Voices became flames in coal dust.
On the surface, all night,
church lights burned.
Women sang hymns.
Children slept in the pews.
Old men huddled, awkward,
staring at their hands.
Outside the door, pickup trucks idled,
exhaust plumes rising against the rain.
By morning "our father" had left town
and "forever" became "now.
When the miners were lost
the rules of prayer changed.
The words "daily bread" became "darkness."
"Glory" became "suffocation."
Voices became flames in coal dust.
On the surface, all night,
church lights burned.
Women sang hymns.
Children slept in the pews.
Old men huddled, awkward,
staring at their hands.
Outside the door, pickup trucks idled,
exhaust plumes rising against the rain.
By morning "our father" had left town
and "forever" became "now.
Pastor Wilkerson Gets Word
God said make sandwiches,
lots of sandwiches,
and His people spread
jelly and peanut butter
deep into the night.
At dawn they put down
their knives and their rolls
of cellophane wrap,
went outside and waited
for the great hunger
to descend.
God said make sandwiches,
lots of sandwiches,
and His people spread
jelly and peanut butter
deep into the night.
At dawn they put down
their knives and their rolls
of cellophane wrap,
went outside and waited
for the great hunger
to descend.
Stephen Bunch can be found on the Map of Kansas Literature, next door to L. Frank Baum and Gwendolyn Brooks.
It must be added, however, that property values plummeted when he moved into that neighborhood.
It must be added, however, that property values plummeted when he moved into that neighborhood.