Do animals pray? the little boy asks,
gazing at the heron allowing us
to be eight feet away,
his neck folded like a question mark,
then supremely unfolded.

We become a quiet congregation,
morning minyan at Green Lake,
if you count the waves
and liquid aspens playing timbrels,
and heron in prayer shawl.

*an earlier version of this poem appeared in “Drash” 2011-5771, Volume V

Diane Ray is a native New Yorker living in Seattle. A clinical psychologist and poet, her writing has appeared frequently in “Drash,” “Cirque,” and “Voices Israel” anthologies, and additionally in “The Women’s Studies Quarterly,” “Common Dreams,” and “In Layman’s Terms” with poems forthcoming in IFLAC Peace Anthology 2018. She won honorable mention in the Reuben Rose Poetry Competition 2018. Twice last year, Diane joined the exalted ones as Bubbe Deenie, kicking up her feet to celebrate in the serene alternative universe of ballet class.