Prayer Language

We are to add est and eth to every verb, a tradition
leftover from a time when the words 
meant dearest, love of my life.  Now, 
they are meant to make the language holy 
(sacred, not secret), set apart 
like a sabbath. Thou art. Apparently, I shouldn’t love you 
the same way I love gelato or the call 
of a chickadee on a lonely afternoon,
as if they we…