SAINTS

all the saints of my catholic youth
are at my beck and call

peter
francis
anthony

all the teresas
and marys

jude, patron of lost causes, sits on pins and needles,
his ear pressed against the dome of sky
waiting for me to pray
that he might lay my petitions
at the feet of the lord

i am careful to pray in earnest
and only for what i need,
nothing frivolous or too grand

it's obvious that world peace
is not the lord's will
and i know i'll never win
the publisher's house sweepstakes
but this morning i prayed
my truck would crank
and it did and i thought,
"praise the lord!"

a man can't lose
when the saints
are on his side