POEM FOR PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY DON’T PRAY (2022, Edition of 1)
Original poem written by Nicole Tallman and visually interpreted by Ameni Abida, an artist and curator who recently completed a master’s at University College London in Museum and Gallery Practice. She is passionate about art, history, anthropology, and sociology, with a keen interest in colonial heritage and processes of decolonization.
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Poem for People Who Say They Don’t Pray
If you write, you pray.
I write to the light of the candle.
I walk with the moon at the end of the day.
Walking is a prayer.
I repeat: anaphora.
I chant: Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ.
I say: Santa María, Madre de Dios.
I write.
I walk.
I pray.
I burn incense for you.
Frankincense. Violet. Rose. Myrrh.
I pray.
I drink wine.
Prisoner: Red Zin and Rombauer Chardonnay.
I pray.
I write.
I walk.
I say your name.
You don’t answer.
I write.
I walk.
I drink.
I burn.
I chant.
I hope.
I pray.