Whisper

Ashes.

Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust.

Remember
that you are but dust

Dirt and pain and sorrow and toil and tears
and life.

and to dust
you shall return.

~~~

(we sing this song at our red brick church, and i like it. the lines alternate with the leader and the people; for the last line, everyone joins together, their voices twisting and rising in humble offering up, up, up towards the sky and to God. those notes, they arpeggiate to create a chord. 1-b3-5-1. do, me, sol, do.
that do at the top? i like it.)

Glory to God, glory to God, glory in the highest.
Glory to God, glory to God, glory in the highest.
To God be the glory forever.
To God be the glory forever.
Allelujah, amen; allelujah, amen; allelujah, amen; allelujah, amen.

Community

"How
I envy Phulan
the warm
circle of our women
for the rest
of her life,"
says Shabanu,
and I understand
what she means
when I am here.

My tear falls
and you catch it
in your outstretched hand
as we live as family
with one figurative blood.


*Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind, by Suzanne Fisher Staples