when was the last time you sang

When was the last time time you sang?

(Question put to the sick by a Native American Medicine Man)

          Quoted by Mark Nepo in the Book of Awakening

_________________________

 

When was the last time you sang?

not a hymn,

or a song for a chorale

or choir

 

but sang

joyously, freely

just for the hell of it

because your soul was so full

of the joy of the Sacred

that you could not be silent?

 

When was the last time you laughed?

laughed at the absurdity of life

laughed for no reason

laughed until the tears ran down your face

and you snorted

ungracefully?

 

when was the last time you gave voice

to whatever was deep within you

 

when did you last cry

from the heart?

Freeing the torrents of anguish

the pain dammed behind the façade

you present to the world?

 

On this mornings morning

as the world weeps around me and the clouds

bring the sky down to the earth

 

on this day as I read of horrors in Gaza

and the machinations of the far right

seeking to turn my country into a faux Christian dystopian state

as I watch the liars lie and lie and lie again

and the gullible believe

as I watch voter suppression

and basic rights taken away by fearful authoritarians

 

the clouds of evil

darken my soul

it all closes in until I cannot breathe,

cannot feel, and I walk, numb through each day

 

it has been far too long since I have truly smiled

since my heart has lept within my chest

with joy, or love our hope

 

there seems to be little there but existential dread!

 

Ah as we creep though this world

Tip toeing really

little, and shriveled and old of soul

we need to

sing

 

there is healing

in that giving voice

in the laughter

the song

the cry

the whisper

 

so

sing

even if it feels

that no one hears

 

for no song

no cry

no laugh

goes unheard

 

by the ear

of

Love