Waiting
By Noor Naga
This is a practical religion there is a prayer at dawn (beginning when it is light enough outside for a black thread to be distinguishable from a white thread and ending at sunrise) there is a prayer at noon (beginning when my shadow is the driest puddle at me feet and ending when my shadow is as long as I am tall) there is an afternoon prayer (beginning when my shadow is as long as I am tall and ending at sunset) there is a prayer at sunset (beginning when the sun sets and ending after dusk) there is a prayer at night (beginning after dusk and ending at dawn) these five are obligatory an app on my phone alerts me when the time for one has come there is a prayer for rain there is a prayer for the dead there is a thanksgiving prayer and a prayer for guidance there is a prayer for greeting a mosque when one enters this is a practical religion there is no prayer for waiting for a married man to ping ping this religion is not sentimental is not just fuzzy heart-feels it is a code of law is you step outside the law this religion stops talking to you it is unclear how to proceed.
Copyright Credit: Noor Naga, "Waiting" from washes, prays. Copyright © 2020 by Noor Naga. Reprinted by permission of McClelland & Stewart, Ltd., a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
Source: washes, prays (McClelland & Stewart, Ltd., 2020)