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The Forgotten Religion
The child prays.
It is all he has been taught. In the church, in the playground, on the window still and even under the thin sheets of warmth. It doesn't matter where, for the adults claim that the ears of the Almighty are always open. That small noises and pleas can be easily heard. Or at least that is what he has been taught to believe.
The child indulges in this daily ritual. One in the morning and another at night. In the day, the child behaves and acts proper so that his prayers are heard and not negated by naughty acts. The child believes whole-heartedly in his actions. The innocence and naivety behind it is enough to melt the ice of unfeeling hearts.
As the age adolescence sets in, the obedient child no longer lingers. The hardened teenager calls the shots, daily prayer rituals slowly vanish into obscurity. Other things take priority, and paying worship to a higher beings becomes forgotten. At the tip of the tongue, words of sweetness dissipate. Instead, harsh lashings and vulgarities spew out.
By adulthood, the memories of church and hymns are beaten and buried into a corner. Life is fast, harsh and has no room for religion. Poetic verses are exchanged for dollars and bargaining. The Bible is replaced by a stack of papers - contracts and bills. Why pray? It certainly pays less.
The child prays. But it does not stop him from losing his religion.
It just catalyses the inevitable end of spirtuality.
The Forgotten religioin:
i loved your write up. This piece of prose is very reflective and sad in mood. What good observations of growing up from a child to a teenager to maturer years. Maybe when we are nearing the end of our lifetime we find religioin again! Sadly some people never find it.
http://www.postpoems.org/authours/a.griffiths57