Prayer to Artemis

Goddess of culverts and lighthouses, goddess

                     of burrows and coves and safety in narrow escapes,

stand where you stand and shine

                     like kindness on our children.

From you they learn right and wrong, and how to wear capes

                     for hunting or self-concealment, how to find

a turtle’s egg-cache, or a rabbit warren,

                     how to distinguish a dangerous

impulse from a lovely whim,

                     when to keep a flower or a friend,

and where it’s safe to swim.

                     It’s hard work, I know, to shine all the time,

but it’s never pointless.

                     Sometimes it’s divine.