“We Will Pray Together Again”

By Frederick J. Streets

We will laugh again, without caution.  
We will smile again, without constraint.  
We will embrace again, without defense.  
We will speak again, without muted sounds.  

We will, again, side by side, look at the stars.  
Again, we will gather in places and spaces unsoiled by our anxiety and fear.  
We will freely breathe deeply, again.  
We will dance again with our cheeks close enough to hear our whispering to one another.  
We will mourn again, openly.  

We will greet each other again closely, without suspicion.  
Children will hug us again.  
And we will hug children, again  
We will invite solitude, again.  

We will imagine again without desperation.  
We will again feel the joy that hope brings. 

We will play together again.  
We will sing together again.  
We will cheer together again.  
We will pray together again.  

We will feel each other’s hands and arms,  
Again, tomorrow.  

Tomorrow, again.

The Rev. Frederick J. Streets ’75 M.Div. is senior pastor of Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church in New Haven, CT, adjunct professor at YDS, and formerly chaplain of Yale University.