a poem

I pray
Watching the clouds outside
The large glass windows of our church,
Each cloud a silent witness awaiting
Its own miracle
Of turning inside out
To reveal a silver lining.

My gaze drops to the congregation
As people shuffle past me to pews.
A four year old in a pink dress who is
Dancing behind her parents
Stops to stare at me in my wheelchair.
Her hand goes to her mouth , her eyes grow wide
She asks “Mommy, what’s wrong with that woman?”

I smile.
The little girl blinks at me as her father reaches to pull her away.

I watch
As they go toward the front of the church and file into a pew.

I pray
She has not learned it is wrong to look at people in wheelchairs
I pray
She will be taught to be less afraid of those who are different
I pray
She saw my smile.