Prayer Prayed at Unnamed Graves

While on retreat at Mepkin Abbey earlier this year,
I sat by the recently discovered graves of enslaved
persons there and prayed in and under their
memory.

Prayer Prayed at Unnamed Graves

Former Laurens Plantation
January 30, 2024

Speak, crow, of this land, these trees,
of your mocking, joyous pride so few recognize.

Sing, wren, your pine top trill, of woods
so often levelled and hauled away.

Weep, doves, by these long-forgotten graves,
tucked in a corner, so many unknown.

Tell us, Hannah, of the beauty you made,
calloused hands, bent back, unthanked, unpaid.

Preach, Andrew, of what or Who could keep you
digging and toting, your head up straight.

Moan, Priscilla, not just for yourself, but every hundredth
one, thousandth one, millions of ones forced from home.

Walter, stripes on your back, teach us to see
hard, hurt flesh, yet God’s great black beauty.

Lead us, cotton row after row, to learn
that you will not tolerate stupidity and pride forever.

Pray for us, soil, dirt, and stone,
that we might heal, plant, and grow sane one day.

J. Stephen Rhodes,
Canon Poet