Theory of Choir
It’s the breathing,
we go deep
to push notes upward.
The diaphragm
does its proper job,
restoring balance after we
limp in for rehearsal
beaten down by
the shallow breathing of rushing
from one thing to the next.
We focus on music, this night,
the ebb and flow of dynamics, text,
breathing, and more breathing,
where nothing else could possibly
clutter our heads except
the lissom line of black notes
running up and down the page,
and words catching us off our guard
as we press the two together
turning both into music.
Singing transposes us from
demanding bosses,
final exams,
ridiculous deadlines,
that nagging pain in the small curve of the back,
We are made whole again in music.
We seek the rhythm of our hearts,
find harmony in
the sum of our parts,
We chant our stories
one note, upon another and another,
we blend as one, a collective “everyone”
sitting side by side, row upon row.
Like bricks on a path,
carefully laid down
one next to the other,
one journey of sound
one interlocking message,
as we crescendo upward,
assembled at the seam of
Here and the Hereafter,
our scores held firmly to our chests.
