And then the Singing

First an ego, and then pain, and then the singing.

~ From Faint Music by Robert Hass

Ego

It towers over the landscape.

Casting its shadow even in darkness,

blocks all reason, leaves only fear.

Pain

It ripples through us until we

can’t breathe. Everything, said

Siddhartha, is burning, burning.

Singing

First the rise of the chest,

clear and sure. Then relief,

and then the singing.

©2020 Joanne Young Elliott