A Wood Badge Prayer

Great Spirit, thank you for guiding me to Gilwell.
Thank you for my Animal Spirit Guide [coach counselor]
and for those who share it with me.
Great Spirit, I am Afraid.
As I have climbed your mountain, I have learned Wisdom.
But as I look at my Guides, I ask myself:
Can I ever have the Sincerity of my Troop Guide?
Can I ever have the Ageless Wisdom of the Instructor?
Can I ever have the Fatherly Love of the Scoutmaster?
How can I ever mean as much to others as they mean to me.
As I look down the mountain at those who seek my guidance,
I feel unworthy.
When I look up to the clouds and see the Spirit in the Quartermaster,
I wonder if I can Care so much for so long.
Great Spirit, I will not let my fear cause me to fail.
But I know I will need help.
Grant my heart wings, that I may soar with the Songmaster.
Grant me Charity, that I may wear the caring smile
of the Assistant Scoutmaster.
Grant me Strength, that I may show the confident Leadership
of the Senior Patrol Leader.
Grant me these, Great Spirit, and I will carry this Learning to every
young man who looks up his mountain and to me his Guide.
I will share your Wisdom all of my days,
until I join my Wood Badge Guides again
and we walk with Impessa through the Lea of Gilwell.

--Daniel Flynn, Wood Badge Course C-35-98.
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The WB Scribbler sez: This prayer is a little too treaclely for the Scribbler's tastes, and he can't remember when he last considered the Fatherly Love of his boyhood Scoutmaster...still, Daniel Flynn's efforts are not unappreciated, if only he would share some of his vast Wisdom and explain the last line! I mean, what does "walk with Impessa through the Lea of Gilwell" mean anyway?

A little Googleing yesterday found this: "lea" is a tract of land, especially a grassland or meadow; "Impessa" (here misspelled, the correct spelling is "Impeesa") is Baden-Powell's African nickname for "wolf that never sleeps." So, "walk with Impessa through the Lea of Gilwell" means "walk with Baden-Powell through the meadow of Gilwell." Pretty clever, Daniel Flynn, also pretty obscure and treaclely...

--WB Scribbler