1. National Day of Prayer PoeticWord Ministries John C. Mannone May 27, 2007

2. Incense And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints. Revelations 5:8

3. The persimmon sun shone through its smooth light skin hanging from some celestial tree. Before the ripened fruit fell behind the orchard hill it gave sweet honeysuckle to the asters and the hyacinths. Cinnamon mingles scents of lavender lingering with the sage. Yet the flowers fold their petals they pray through the evening dark

4. and in the morning, the jonquils and the lilies stretch their long stems toward the rising sun and dry their tears of dew.

5. An incredible setting sun hung in the west-northwest sky. A very smooth disc with an unusual color, not the typical yellow, stimulated this poem. Though not much mist in the sky, it must have been there to allow naked eye viewing. There was a little of the dark forest green left in the trees on the ridge. (May 22, 2007, 8:15 pm, driving west on Hwy 68 west of Sweetwater.) Comments

6. Theme: nature praises God; Rev 5 echoed. Sunday May 27: National Day of Prayer. Metaphors: Sun=God (giver of life), flowers=us, fragrances=prayers Celestial tree=cross (connecting heaven and earth), Fruit falls=death of Christ (first fruits, fruit of thy womb); orchard hill=Golgotha, night=season of sadness, but joy comes in the morning; Sunrise=resurrection (also the second coming), thanksgiving=dew Comments