Now I Lay Me Down...

An odd prayer to say at bedtime--

Especially for the children's sake--

Is one that has them saying each night

"If I should die before I wake."

 

“Die before I wake”? Oh, no!

That is not a comforting thought--

That all my efforts to live and breathe

This very night could come to naught?

 

So when the kiddies say the prayer

"Now I lay me down to sleep…,"

Just imagine all the thoughts

That into little heads might creep:

 

Thoughts rekindling many fears--

Of ghouls sucking out their breath,

Of monsters crawling out of the closet,

Of countless things that might cause death.

 

And after that, while the children's

Imaginations are on a roll,

They think that from a distant place

A "lord" is going to take their soul.

 

How can that be comforting?

Wouldn't something life-affirming

Be much more appropriate

And not have little bed goers squirming?

 

Something giving them joy and hope,

Something that will help them thrive

And learn to appreciate the world

And thus feel lucky to be alive?

 

Are little ones still saying that prayer?

Are there parents who still demand it?

I guess that one would have to be

A praying sort to understand it.

 

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I hope I won't be counting sheep.

Let's ALL have pleasant dreams instead,

And wake up glad that we aren't dead.

 

-by Bob B (12-31-24)