PRAYER (musings on my 76th birthday)

Virtuous myths and metaphors :
Sisyphus and brave Prometheus opened doors
to human progress, agents of Divine creation,
paragons of human aspirations,
models for our younger generations.
Once I drew from them much inspiration,
yet, today is not my turn for arduous heroism,
for the hour advances to the fated schism.

Thankful for auspicious blessings and esprit,
I celebrate life’s golden potpourri,
content to work for justice and for peace.
Priorities for us are not the golden fleece,
but brotherhood, a duty to restore,
rebuild, prevent a third world war!
I have enjoyed a variegated journey
as a conscious person, not a drab attorney.

Sure, I may presume to serve the good,
but oft enough I have misunderstood.
O Lord, let me depart before
I sabotage my own salvation.
Give me guidance how to come ashore,
and save me from all vain temptations,
spare me interim infatuations,
help me obviate hallucinations.

Ne nos inducat in tentationem,
neither in personam nor in rem. 

For now, I want to thank for every day
that I have lived -- before I fade away.
I want to thank for every fragrant rose,
for Your Creation’s poetry and prose,
for fragrances of citrus, cinnamon,
the bouquet of a vintage Sauvignon.
I want to taste asparagus from the Valais
and savour fresh tomatoes from our chalet.

Before I go, I want to hear the cuckoo’s call,
appreciate all things however small,
admire an amaryllis bloom, recall
my mother’s garden full of herbs and cheer,
ephemeral, eternal, happy belvedere….
I want to gaze at butterflies, the Vatican aurora
anthocharis cardamines, laughing flora,
full of splendour, sun and mystic aura,
visit concert halls and listen evermore
to Strauss’ Tod und Verklärung as encore.

Before night falls, let me embrace
Your Godly gifts of time and space.
Let me go cycling hand in hand
and stroll along the Noordwijk strand.

Before the dawn, I wish to dream
old dreams, revisit cherished reveries.
Let me affirm what I esteem,
be faithful to my memories.

Hear now my tardy prayer
at this dilatory hour: Give
me grace and help me to forgive
to be forgiven, help me to repair…

Not ready yet to leave this house,
I must first bless and kiss my spouse…
and when I newly rise
with open ears and open eyes,
I pray to be together with my wife,
for after-life in solitude is scarcely life.

A new dimension shall be bathed in light,
renew my secular enthusiasm, wonderment,
in unison with family and friends, as son and acolyte.
I want no bland nirvana but a brisk development
of consciousness, for earthly life is but an ante
to enlightenment. I hope to chat with Dante,
Cicero and Kant, and pledge today: Fe y adelante!

© Alfred de Zayas