Baptismal Prayer: A poem by James Tighe
Wash me, Lord, my naked body
dunk me in the river
in the blood, if need be
bear my sins away
absolve my fears in the waters of forgiveness
rich as a mother’s milk
May a robed choir sing
from both banks of the river
and may the faces of all the dead convocate in the sky above
and smile down on my ignorances and perplexity
Rinse me, Lord
assuage my self-inflicted wounds with ablutions
bathe me in water as in light
like a mother cleanses her perfect newborn babe
As I grow toward the Light
give me a voice to sing
hands to build and caress
a pair of eyes that sparkle in the sunlight and moonlight
even when they’ve gone blind
Give me a mind with which to contemplate and be prayerful
a body that bears up
is buoyant upon the oceans
which are reservoirs of tears
of everyone who has ever felt the pain and delirious joy of living
Let me never learn about a woman’s love
if I am not to experience it in this lifetime
Please give me a body
that both lives and dies
May every death
be as glorious as a birth 
About the Author
TLV News The Local Voice is a bimonthly entertainment guide and newspaper based in Oxford, Mississippi, covering and distributed in North Central Mississippi, including Oxford, Ole Miss, Taylor, Abbeville, Water Valley, Lafayette County, Yalobusha County, and parts of Panola County, Marshall County, and Tupelo . The Local Voice is distributed free to over 255 locations in North Mississippi and also available as a full color PDF download worldwide on the internet.
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