On the Common 203

The Boys They Prayed For.

Good morning,

I write to you from the throes of a summer cold and in the wake of a back injury. This means that when I sneeze (often), my back hurts. Late forties, I personify you.

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The Part Where There’s an Essay: The Boys They Prayed For

Photo by Kevin Watza on Unsplash

I was recently asked to compose a poem for a friend’s baby shower. She has kindly allowed me to share it with you.

There was the boy who came after the strife
The appointed one. [1]
He was to be the restored foundation.
A balm to his parents as they made their home in the East.

Another boy, expected after decades of weeping
And some laughter.
His parents welcomed the angels.
He would carry the wood for the sacrifice.

There was a different boy sleeping in the bullrushes,
A basket for his bed.
Mother and sister never far off,
Getting him to shore, to walk upon the dry land.

One boy was waited for in the temple
His mother passed over, weeping
Later, he would sleep in the temple
And hear God call his name.

There was the boy who leaped at the coming of his cousin—
Elizabeth’s boy.
The forerunner, the anticipator.
The one whose life decreased that another would increase.

The increase came from God
By Mary. The Messiah—
Born into obscurity, the tiny town
Defeating death in a garden.

We pray today that this secondborn,
This boy after girl,
After waiting; after weeping; after laughter—
We pray that his life would echo these forerunners.

We pray that he be a balm to those in need;
That he would rise up laughing,
And hear God call his name.
We pray he would be the excited anticipator—
One who looks to the Kingdom and the resurrection with joy.

We pray that this second born,
This boy after girl, this answer to prayer, 
Would look with hope
Toward the restoration of all things;
The walk in the city-garden
In the cool of the evening.

[1] Seth means “appointed.”

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For the Anglophiles

I’m not sure what to think about The Beatles dropping on this list. They were already too low!

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Reads & Listens of the Week

Here’s that Atlantic article everyone is buzzing about: The End of Reading is Here. “The decline of reading will bring about changes of the same magnitude. It will affect our innermost thoughts, our society’s politics and culture, and how we tell the history of our civilization. If we look closely, we can see that these changes have already begun.”

You all know that I am a futbol watcher, but did you know that sometimes I write about it? Here is a guide to choosing a Premier League team, in case the World Cup has made you hungry for more. The season starts in a little less than a month!

And I loved this recap of this summer’s World Cup: 29 Reasons We Loved the 2026 World Cup.

Here is some news from Theo of Golden author, Allen Levi:

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What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance. -Jane Austen