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Pray for the Children



We pray for the Children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.
We pray for children
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes
under the bed, who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.
And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children
who want to be carried and for those who must,
who we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother and .
. . for those who will grab the hand
of anybody kind enough to offer it.

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Monsters Are For Real


On Monday, Billy didn't have his homework
And when the teacher asked him why
He said, "Because a monster ripped it up,
After I told him a lie."
"You know monsters don't exist,
And if you don't turn in your homework
No recess you will get
On Tuesday, Billy had a stomachache
And when the teacher asked him why
He said, "A monster took away my dinner,
even my cherry pie."
"Billy, I've told you once before,
Monsters are not real.
You'll have to wait till lunchtime
Before you get a meal."
On Wednesday, Billy had a bandage,
Which covered his right eye.
When the teacher asked him how it happened,
This was his reply:
"A monster was running after me
When I ran into the door:"
"Billy please," the teacher said,
"I don't want to hear any more."
On Thursday, Billy refused to sit down,
And when the teacher asked him why,
Billy said, "A monster whipped my bottom,
Because I started to cry,"
"Billy, said the teacher, " this is getting out of hand,
And if you continue with these stories,
In the corner you will stand."
On Friday, Billy didn't come to school,
And when the teacher found out why,
She said a little prayer to God
In hopes Billy would survive.
For a monster had beaten Billy
and threatened him with a knife.
Now Billy lay in a hospital bed,
Fighting for his life.
So teachers please remember,
That monsters are for real.
Listen closely to kids stories,
A wounded heart you may heal.


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