Non-Denominational Prayer for Our Nation by Laura Serena accorded Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award.

Laura Serena receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for this beautiful prayer for America and all its citizens, on the eve of the 2008 Presidential Election, when we are hoping so ardently for change, after eight years of such wanton governance and greed. KH Cross-posted from Progressive Blue http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3014#45403 Non-Denominational Prayer for Our Nation by: Laura Serena Mon Nov 03, 2008 at 12:54:41 PM EST

We have wandered in darkness too long, Following idolators of the Golden Calf, Rushing headlong into the chasm, Washing our hearts away in the forgetful waters of Styx, Seeking to possess the rest of the world in our watery clutches, Where being dragged down, We all would drown. Too long have we hurled everything of value into the depths. Stealing the offering from others, Long before throwing away our own. And the greedy mouths of the damned have devoured it all, Ever hungry for more.

But look! Some disobedient souls have resisted! Tenaciously they cling to the slippery slope. They find a foothold here, A handhold there. Too weak to climb without support of many, They reach to those struggling for life upon the brink. A saving hand thrust down. Fingers barely caught. A mighty effort as each one is saved. And now the few become a throng. We rise with all our strength. A light shines through the cleft above. It will take all of us to reach it. Let no morsel of human flesh be tossed back to the mouths of the damned. Tomorrow, we begin the arduous ascent. Together. Please read the words of Mr. John Cusack on Huffington Post, whose clarity of insight inspired this more obscure and metaphorical assessment of our situation.