Edward Hays Lenten Prayer

From Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, by Edward Hays:

I thank you, O God,

for the warming of the winds

that brings a melting of the snow,

for daylight hours that daily grow longer

and richer in the aroma of hope.

Spring lingers beneath the horizon

as approaching echoes of Easter

ring in my ears.

I lift up my heart to you, Beloved,

in this season of Lent

that gently sweeps across

my sluggish and sleeping heart,

awakening me

to a deeper love for you.

May the wind of the Spirit

that drove Jesus into the desert,

into the furnace of prayer,

also drive me with a passion

during the Lenten season

to enkindle the fire of my devotion

in the desert of Lenten love.

Birds above, on migratory wings,

signal to an inner migration,

a message that draws me homeward bound

on Spirit's wings

to the heart of my Beloved.

May I earnestly use this Lenten season

to answer the inner urge

to return.