Prayer for the Fish We Will Never See

Lord, you know we give thanks for fish often enough,
the ones on plates on our table, served up hot and tasty.
Today we say a prayer for the fish we will never see,
the ones who live in the streams by our home,
the ones who swim up rivers to great lakes,
and the fish in the wide and salty ocean.
Swimming in the dim light they inhabit a wilderness
of water, theirs from the beginning of time.
We see only the edges, the surfaces.
Hear our prayer for the mighty lake sturgeon,
and for the carp, the bass, the silver chub.
We pray for the salmon we will never eat,
and the sunfish, and the minnow.
We pray for sharks and clownfish,
for mackerel, pickerel, perch.
We are connected with all these by our drains,
by our sewers, by the effluent pipes of our factories.
Our plastic floats on their home,
our microbeads penetrate their flesh,
and their gills breathe water tainted by our chemicals.
You sent us a Saviour who was Living Water.
The water of life that sustains
our brothers and sisters the fish,
is part of our own flesh and blood.
We are all creatures; help us live in peace.
Give wisdom to scientists who study fish,
and bureaucrats who make policies that affect them.
Give us eyes to see what we cannot see,
and a heart to care for all who live in the deep.