An October prayerwell it should be easy

But there's just so much going on out there.

Such pain, and strifeso many needy

To pick just one would not seem fair.

Yet on we go, as we keep on wondering

Just where or what, to whom to turn?

The leaves still change, but do we ever?

The squirrels gather, but we still yearn.

Our family first, and then the harvest

Remembering where the first fruits go.

For what we have we must be grateful.

And who to thank we surely know.

A brilliant, reddish, orangish sunset

A sun with rays with warmth that glow

A bright white shining moonrise

A full moon helps our harvest show.

The air is crisp, the sky is starlit

The days are warm, the nights are fair

We sleep at night with windows open

Closets closed with our coats in there.

So we think and we thank and we pray and we ponder

Just how good home and hearth, health and happiness are.

But soon our thoughts must turn again outward

To all those things that are going on out there.

And so we proceed with hope but with caution

Knowing full well that life's not always fair

We try and tip the scales back in our favor

With thoughts of love and of grace and of mercy

As the heart and soul of our October prayer.

Nickolas N. Zaccaro

Schnecksville