Prayers

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Bow down
Your ear,
O Lord,
hear me;
For I am
poor
and
needy.
[Psalms 86:1]
********************
"Lord?"
(Impatient pause.)
(Irritable whine.)
"LORD!
LORD!"

[PATIENT VOICE.]
"Yes,
My precious?"

(Curious squint.)
"Am I too.........
KVETCHY?"

[SOLEMN NOD.]
"Yes,
My precious."

"Is THAT why
You're not..
BLESSING ME?"

[PATIENT PAUSE.]
"Who says
I'm not blessing
you,
Mein kin'der?"

(Thoughtful squint.)
"My FRIENDS!
MY FRIENDS!
THEY SAY....
Y'ur not BLESSING ME,
because I'm too
GROUCHY!"

[CHUCKLE.]
"With your
friends,
Mein kin'der?"

(Irritable squirm.)
(Impatient yell.)
"NO!
NO!
WITH YOU!"
(Squint.)
"WELL......I can,
sometimes,
get pretty GROUCHY
with them,
too."

[BURST OUT LAUGHING!]

"I TOLD them,
I'm only really SWEET,
with ANIMALS! With
STRAY CATS...
I'm a bowl'a
mushy OATMEAL!"

[NOD.]
[SMILING.]

"They seem to
think,
I should be....
Ya know:
BROWN-NOSING
You,
more."

[BURST OF LAUGHTER.]
"You can't,
My beloved."

(Squirm.)
(Irritable voice.)
"Well.......THEY
seem to THINK SO."

"Is that
what they said,
child?"

(Shrug.)
"Just ABOUT;
I mean,
that's the GIST
of IT."

[PATIENT SIGH.]
[TURN TO HIS RIGHT.]
[SMILE!]

"Do You know
what that MEANS,
LORD?"

"What,
child."

"The GIST OF IT!"
(Glance up at the ceiling.)
"It's an ENGLISH TERM!"
(Sassy smile.)
"I keep FORGETTING.....
that ENGLISH..
isn't Y'ur first LANGUAGE."

[CHUCKLING CAN BE
HEARD FROM THE
RIGHT SIDE OF THE
THRONE.]

(Thoughtful pause.)
(Wave hand, dramatically.)
"It sort'a means.....
'the CLIFF NOTES
of the CONVERSATION'!"

[PATIENT SILENCE.]
[NOD.]

"I FORGET;
You didn't go to
MIDDLE SCHOOL,
in Philadelphia...
in the nineteen...SEVENTIES."

[PATIENT NOD.]

"Who knows WHAT
kids do, NOW;
they probably just look
stuff up, on the INTERNET."

[MOURNFUL SIGH.]
"Oy vey."

(Hopeful stare,
up at the ceiling vent.)
"NU*?
So.....WHAT should I DO:
to get more BLESSINGS:

SING TO YOU?
PRAISE YOU?
TALK REALLY SWEET TO YOU?
WRITE POETRY?
WRITE A SONG FOR YOU?"

[PAUSE.]
"Listen
to Me,
child."

(Suspicious squint.)
"Is THAT IT?
YA THINK.....
I TALK TOO MUCH?"

[PATIENT VOICE.]
"Listen."

(Irritable squirm.)
(Whiny shout.)
"YEAH!
BUT,
HALF THE TIME......
You don't SAY NOTHIN'!"

[SIGH.]

(Pause.)
(Look up.)
(Woeful face.)
"I'm bein'
KVETCHY,
again....
AREN'T I?"

[NOD.]
********************
Teach me
Your way,
O Lord;
I will walk
in Your truth,
Unite my heart
to fear Your
Name.
[Psalms 86:11]

_______________
*Yiddish: 'So, tell me?';
'Can you believe this?';
'So, what happened?'.


To my Christian
friends,
Jeri
and Sandy:
who put up
with their
grouchy
Jewish friend.

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