Midnight Prayer

The fading echoes of a midnight prayer
still faintly audible at break of day
although the supplicant’s no longer there

make soft the shadows and make sweet the air.
The morning traffic’s noise will drive away
the fading echoes of a midnight prayer

but meantime, linger quiet on the stair
and watch the curtain by the altar sway
although the supplicant’s no longer there.

Who knows if it was joy or bleak despair
that brought the sleepless here last night to pray?
The fading echoes of a midnight prayer

leave holiness on wall and rug and chair
a touch of grace, by grace allowed to stay
although the supplicant’s no longer there.

You’re seeking God? You’ll find Him anywhere—
in every house or room whose walls replay
the fading echoes of a midnight prayer
although the supplicant’s no longer there.