A First Prayer

She asked if she could say a prayer.

We were walking in the lightest rain,
pausing at a swing set,
Her birthday is just days away.

I told her where I’d be tonight night 
with a friend sitting shiva.
She asked what we would be doing
Praying, I answered.
In Hebrew, she asked?
Yes, I said.

“Can I say a prayer too?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, “if you repeat after me.”
And so I led her, word by word.

A first prayer.
A prayer for firsts.

The Shehechiyanu for the first time
is worth saying Shehechiyanu for.