prayer (xi) a poem by Jonathan Chan
prayer (xi)
remember these chains, how these
palms were clasped above rawer
wrists. that momentary glimpse
beyond the binding of every
thought, when every day seemed
to spill beyond its bounds. how
the digital bells begin to toll
and the loving gaze beyond
a virtual stretch begins to crack.
remember the resolution of a
centering plea, enough to hold
the wandering jitters, drawn into
the embrace of all that is fully
known. remember the warmth
that shares itself from skin to skin,
the leaning into a familiar bosom.
remember the lightness of chasing
God, elusive as shimmers in a
downpour. remember these chains,
how costly it can all seem
to never again waste away.
By Jonathan Chan
Published in Fathom Magazine. Re-published with permission.
Jonathan Chan is a writer and editor. Born in New York to a Malaysian father and South Korean mother, he was raised in Singapore and educated at Cambridge and Yale Universities. He is the author of the poetry collection going home (Landmark, 2022) and Managing Editor of poetry.sg. His poetry and essays have appeared in Ekstasis, Fathom, Inheritance, The Yale Logos, Poems for Ephesians, and the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity. More of his writing can be found at jonbcy.wordpress.com.
