I Send You a Song

Your song heard round the world
lifts my heart; music,
the language of love, of connection,
of our shared humanity and hope.

No matter the times we live through,
the mellow notes of the strings
lift the weight of our cares,
the way the musician's shoulders lift
as he grooves, in joy,
and strums his fine guitar.

People stood on terraces in Italy,
and sang, before the numbers of
the dead began to rise.
A girl in Vancouver's West End belts
the national anthem on her balcony
in gratitude.
Outside hospitals, long lines of fire trucks
and police cars slowly pass, sirens and lights on,
to thank our medical heroes,
who stand at the door in tears.
I choke up at the beauty of the human heart,
which brings its best self
to meet the challenges
we are facing, now, together.

In my village, a doctor is living apart
from her children to keep them safe.
"I hope they understand," she says,
tears in her voice.

I can't give her time with her children,
can't send roses to thank her, but I can send
a prayer for her safety.
I can send her a song
to lift her tired heart, so she can
walk the halls of our small hospital
renewed.

I send you one, too.


for my challenge at earthweal: Flattening the Curve, how self-isolating is affecting us, how we are responding during this time of fear and uncertainty, not knowing what comes next, but knowing we are in it together.