A Prayer to Hela, For Humility
by Anya Kless
O Lady
as I walk your road of death and dying,
strip from me those things that hinder my steps.
Strip me from me my vanity,
my concern for the regard, lust, and admiration of others.
Strip from me my arrogance,
my assurance that I know best for myself and others.
Strip from me my pride,
in my body, my face, my youth, and my beauty.
Strip from me my reliance on my
intellect,
my wit, and my words.
Strip from me my judgment of
others;
I do not know their story or their path.
Strip from me my wastefulness
when I take abundance, health, family, and friends for granted.
Strip from me my impatience and irritation.
Strip from me my fear of being stripped.
Strip from me all the things I cannot cast off myself.
Strip from me everything I cling to in disillusion and fear.
Strip these things from me as flesh is stripped from bone.
Help me to allow these things to
rot, decay, putrefy, and fall away.
Send your maggots to feast on my festering rot
until I feel the clamor of snakes, worms, and beetles
cleaning my bones.
