For Instruction
Teach me some prayer
tender as you are tender when
one of my shadows mingles with one of yours and makes
an intricate weave we walk on for a moment,
gentle as you are gentle when
you humble yourself to take my kiss,
wordless as we are wordless when
a pause has fallen between us like a pedal.
Vassar Miller (1924-98) was the author of 10 books of poetry in her lifetime.
“For Instruction” from Wage War on Silence: A Book of Poems © 1960 by Vassar Miller. Published by Wesleyan University Press. Used with permission.