And Miriam sang
God's song.
It flowed
Rising like smoke
Like a pillar of fire.
And Miriam sang
her brothers' song.
wild
jubilant
Free at last, free at last!
And she sang
her mothers song,
crooned
in velvet darkness and liquid as day
A lullaby--
A love song,
her mother's song was.
And Miriam sang
the people's song:
soft and loud at once
and liquid still, and edged in smoke
and wild
Oh! so wild.
A babble of song
that lifted her feet
and rang out--
sang out
with cymbal and lyre.
Her voice rose
Like smoke,
Like air.
It soared.
And she sang the people's song
Sang her mother's song
Sang her brother's song
Sang God's song.
God's song.
It flowed
Rising like smoke
Like a pillar of fire.
And Miriam sang
her brothers' song.
wild
jubilant
Free at last, free at last!
And she sang
her mothers song,
crooned
in velvet darkness and liquid as day
A lullaby--
A love song,
her mother's song was.
And Miriam sang
the people's song:
soft and loud at once
and liquid still, and edged in smoke
and wild
Oh! so wild.
A babble of song
that lifted her feet
and rang out--
sang out
with cymbal and lyre.
Her voice rose
Like smoke,
Like air.
It soared.
And she sang the people's song
Sang her mother's song
Sang her brother's song
Sang God's song.
They poured forth from her
as she danced.
The sea bed was rock-strewn
and dust
and blood now,
mixed with the dust.
Emet.
And Miriam danced
as she danced.
The sea bed was rock-strewn
and dust
and blood now,
mixed with the dust.
Emet.
And Miriam danced
on sharp edged stone
and she sang,
and she sang,
her arms lifted, with cymbals
and timbrels
and ribbons of fire that caught the light,
caught the eyes of the people
as she danced them across the dry desert sea.
And she sang, Miriam did.
And she danced on feet that bled
arms lifted
and weary
with fluttering ribbons of color and light
And she sang God
Singing faith
And she sang Moshe
Singing freedom
And she sang her Mother
Singing love
And she sang the people
Singing celebration, singing fear.
And she danced
on feet that bled,
with arms raised in
jubilation
supplication
Surrender.
Weary and raw,
singing,
she danced on feet that bled
to a distant shore,
green and cool with a light that shimmered
Like freedom
Like love.
Miriam danced and raised her bloodied feet
to stand upon the cool and green
No song, no cymbal
Just silence:
A final offering.
And into that stunning, that glorious silence,
she gave her weary body
her bloodied body,
her bloodied body,
her ribbons and cymbals,
her vision,
her voice.
And God sang
Miriam's song
and it lifted her, like fire
and it filled her, like love
Selah
Thank you for your poetry, Stacey. I will be reading this aloud as a meditation before the Mourner's Kaddish at tonight's Shabbat Shirah service.
ReplyDeleteStacey, this poem is lovely. My musical partner and I are using the first part in a program we are presenting about Miriam (music, text, 'interview'), and I'd like to give you proper credit. Can you post or send me your full name? Thx for your beautiful work. My e-mail: ter_mystic at yahoo. Blessings, Ter and Wendy
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