The prayer series

Jesus,

Look.
The sea is beautiful.
A big ship becomes tiny.

So quiet.

Oh, a monkey.

Why does that monkey keep looking at me?
Because I’m eating ice cream?
Does he want to eat ice cream too?
Is he hungry?
Should I feed him?
His eyes look sad.

He is sad
because this is his home
but now his home becomes Linh Ứng pagoda*?

The first time I am near a monkey
though I’ve visited Monkey Mountain many times.

Before knowing you,
it seems that I don’t have any animal friends.

After knowing you,
many animal friends come to me
and befriend me.
A cute gray baby mouse.
A big black dog.
Many white, black, gray fat doves…
And now a monkey.

I know
they come not because of me,
but because of you.
You are with me,
so they come to you.

I also know they are you.
You come to me.
Perhaps you want to say,
“I love you.”

…

One monkey,
then two monkeys,
then three, four, five…

I feel I’m in Monkey Kingdom**
in the jungles in Sri Lanka.

Great.

I love you, Jesus.

Amen.

PTH

P/S: Jesus, I swear I’ll never feed wild animal anything,
even just a little.

*Sơn Trà ký sự – Kỳ 4: Luận về Chà vá chân nâu và chùa Linh Ứng
** Đó là thế giới của ta – It’s our world