PRAYER By Dhivesh Wadhawan From the temptation of easy money Please protect my limited purse, Give me the fortitude to persevere Through hard times and worse. Give me coolness in midsummer, Give me warmth in wind-chill, Give me the humility to know When I must swallow a bitter pill. When I make a pure mistake, When I simply run out of luck, Invigorate me with the strength To never try and pass the buck. Let me cry for the downtrodden Let me laugh with all the rest, Let me remember that most truths Are often spoken in jest. Credit cards, club memberships, Influential friends, the Internet, Remind me I am still nobody When I inveterately forget. Let me have faith in the future Despite an uninspiring past, Let me remember that even sadness, Like happiness, does not last.