19 pages • 38 minutes read
Naomi Shihab NyeDifferent Ways to Pray
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1980A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Prayer
Acknowledging that there is no one single or correct way to pray, prayer takes many forms in this poem. Nye’s speaker uses the concept of prayer as an extended metaphor for the concept of living. Prayer has long been a part of human existence. Whether defined by organized religion or spirituality, the act of praying and prayer is defined as something akin to gratitude: It is the solemn expression of help or thanks to an object or God of worship.
Prayer can also be defined as a hope, a wish, a desire for things to continue as they are, or to improve. Nye’s poem opens with an iconic form of prayer familiar to many: “the method of kneeling” (Line 1). Kneeling has been described as “a way for one to show outwardly what one believes inwardly” (“Is Kneeling Important to You During Worship?” The Washington Post. 2003.). The act of kneeling is a form of deference. By beginning the poem with kneeling, Nye establishes religious tones, which are further explored as the poem transitions to more unconventional forms of prayer outside of the mosque, church, or place of worship.
Prayer in “Different Ways to Pray” knows no boundaries. It can be done while washing the laundry, feeding sheep or with millions of others in the holiest time of the year: the annual pilgrimage. Because of this, the theme extends beyond prayer to the people themselves. Despite social status, wealth or religion, Nye’s poem argues that anyone can pray. Prayer—which is to say spirituality, worship, connecting with a higher power, and offering reverence—is something all can do, regardless of who they are or where they do it. The final stanza, concluding with Fowzi, asks: Who’s to say that Fowzi doesn’t speak to God? Who knows the truth?
Ritual
Ritual is an apparent theme in “Different Ways to Pray,” as prayer and ritual are often closely associated. In Nye’s poem, many of the forms of prayer are rooted in ritual. In Stanza 1, the women who kneel speak “small calcium words uttered in sequence” (Line 7). The ritual of these prayers (described as “weathered rib bones” [Line 6]) have been repeated many times, so much so that they are weathered, worn, and old. Similarly, prayer is ritualized in Stanza 3 with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca; the arduous journey is performed and, once there, the worshipers perform rituals:
When they arrived at Mecca
they would circle the holy places,
on foot, many times,
they would bend to kiss the earth (Lines 23-26).
These repetitive acts are also apparent in the everyday household of the women, for whom “the pilgrimage occurred daily” (Line 29). Ritual, defined as a religious or solemn ceremony, is often in accordance with a social custom or order; it is an established way of doing things. “Different Ways to Pray” acknowledges different forms of prayer and ritual as defined by the different lives of the people — from working class women “balancing baskets of grapes” (Line 31) to shepherds to the deeply religious to those who are not religious at all. Nye’s use of ritual in the poem expands prayer from being simply associated with religion. Instead, by incorporating ritual, prayer extends beyond organized religion and into the daily lives of the people. These rituals of prayer become a way of life in and of themselves.
Difference
The theme of difference is immediately evident in the poem’s title: “Difference Ways to Pray.” Exploring the differences among the religious or spiritual, Nye’s speaker recognizes that the differences are vast. Some foolishly believe they can speak directly to God or Allah, while others kneel, whispering prayers. Some call out to God in a demanding tone (“Hear us! We have pain on earth!” [Line 13]) while others do not call to a higher power at all, but simply tend to new life (“The ones stitching intricate needlework into children’s dresses” [Line 34]).
However, through the definition of their differences, the poem acknowledges the similarities between these vastly alternative forms of prayer. The theme of difference, therefore, translates into themes of unity and universality. Prayer cannot be incorrectly performed; it is an intimate communication with a higher power, an object of worship, or oneself. By using the theme of difference to unite, Nye makes a larger, more expansive argument about humanity: Despite the differences among humans—whether religious, ethnic, or cultural—all are human and share that commonality. Nye, who believes in love, compassion, and shared, mutual tolerance and respect for others’ beliefs more than anything else, uses the different forms of prayer in “Different Ways to Pray” to prove that humanity’s similarities far outweigh its differences. As Nye states in her essay “To Any Would-Be Terrorists,” “Find a friend who is so different from you, you can’t believe how much you have in common. Love them. Let them love you” (Nye, Naomi Shihab. “Letter from Naomi Shihab Nye, Arab-American Poet: To Any Would-Be Terrorists.” Humanities North Dakota Magazine, 2012).
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By Naomi Shihab Nye
