On My Knees

I'm not really a prayerful person. I rarely feel moved to pray earnestly or at length. More often an exclaimation or simple thanks passes my lips to a deity or just Creation itself. Following the rescued-from-kidnapping case in Cleveland, Ohio, however, has me praying to Artemis in a way I haven't in years. I pray to Her that the women and the little girl who have lived in such brutal circumstances for so long find healing and justice, that She will protect them from the brunt of the media circus that would, without thought or feeling, hurl itself upon them for a quick buck. I pray deeply and completely that the littlest of them, the one baby who lived of Goddess only knows for sure how many didn't, is able to grow from this undamaged, unscarred. She's only six and so far not a single word or image from her I've seen anywhere-this is as it should be. I pray she is allowed to be anonymous until she is ready to tell her story (if she ever chooses too) and not one moment before. Artemis is the protector of young women and children and surely She has been with these four from the beginning of their ordeal and I pray for many months from now. I pray that She sees justice done against the man accused of these crimes and that he disappears into a lonely cell for a very very long time, bereft of the things he loves the most. I pray that someday he too finds healing, though right now in my heart I admit that there is little for him but hate. Gracious Lady of the Silver Bow, so mote it be.