Literary Analysis- Different Ways to Pray-Naomi Shihab Nye

    A poem that really struck home for me was "Different Ways to Pray" by Naomi Shihab Nye.  What I liked about this poem was that it touched upon all different people, and how praying for people mean different things based upon the genders and age groups she touched upon. 
    On page 3, Nye writes, "There was the method of kneeling...Women dreamed wistfully of hidden corners where knee fit rock." I understood what Nye was describing; I could picture myself kneeling by my bed at night as a little girl praying for whatever it was my small mind was concerned or worried about.  What I realized from this poem is that women are very personal in the way that they pray, and are very vulnerable. In my opinion, for women, praying can be a private way to ask God for help, or looking for a companion to talk to that my being a woman I can strongly identify with.
     Nye also discusses the way men pray.  Also on page 3, Nye writes, " There were men who had been shepherds so long... Under the olive tress, they raised their arms- Hear us! We have pain on earth! We have so much pain there is no place to store it!" Based on this reading, I thought to myself that praying really can be done in different ways for different people. It came across to me that men pray when they feel that they need help. The men that she discusses try to solve and ease their "pain" on their own. It came across to me that when there was nothing left, the shepherds would then turn (to God to ask for help when there were no other options. It made me realize there are different levels that people can go through until they feel it is time to turn to the Higher Power.
      What was something I thought was funny (being a devout Catholic) was how Nye brought children into the poem. On page 5, Nye writes, "There were those who didn't care about praying. They told the old ones, you are wasting your time." I can relate to that because in today's society, I often find children and teens questioning a higher power. Is there really a higher power? How can anyone tell? In today's generation, with all of the technology and books and information on different types of religion, and High Powers, how can anyone tell what is believable and what isn't? Nye then goes on to write, "The old ones prayed for Allah to mend their brains." What Nye is doing is uniting different generations: old and new.  The older generation lived in the time period where religion was a big aspect of life, especially in Nye's culture. The old generation hopes that the younger ones will start to believe in a Higher Power and put their faith in God when older. 
       The title of this poem is very self-explanatory. Throughout analyzing the poem, I realized men, women, and children have different beliefs and different ways to pray.