I said a prayer in Nikko
before a gilded Buddha …
I said a prayer in Hangchow
before a teak Quan-Yin …
I said a prayer in Naples
before a bisque-robed Virgin
in a saint-named cathedral,
proverbially dim.
I said a prayer on the Lord’s
Day
at a New England meeting —
No image for my eyes there
save, outside,
one bright-winged
bird …
And though each prayer
was different, and men sought
diverse gods there,
In every place I prayed,
I am quite sure
the same God heard.
Violet Alleyn Storey
