A little girl is singing for the faithful to come ye
Joyful and triumphant, a song she loves,
And also the partridge in a pear tree
And the golden rings and the turtle doves.
In the dark streets, red lights and green and blue
Where the faithful live, some joyful, some troubled,
Enduring the cold and also the flu,
Taking the garbage out and keeping the sidewalk shoveled.
Not much triumph going on here—and yet
There is much we do not understand.
And my hopes and fears are met
In this small singer holding onto my hand.
Onward we go, faithfully, into the dark
And are there angels singing overhead? Hark.
"December" by Gary Johnson. Text as published online by The Writer's Almanac (December 22, 2011).Art credit: "Mother and Child Abstract," photograph by Constantin Opris.
"There is much we do not understand.
ReplyDeleteAnd my hopes and fears are met
In this small singer holding onto my hand.
Onward we go, faithfully, into the dark
And are there angels hovering overhead?
Hark.".......This is such a powerful statement of the true spiritual place where we stand, right here, right now, wholeness sparking alive!
I especially appreciate mention of the everyday labor of "Taking the garbage out and keeping the sidewalk shoveled."--those tasks we do to maintain spaces for ourselves and others that can so easily be overlooked and undervalued.
ReplyDelete