The Choir I Hear

The following is a poem submitted by Terry York. Terry is Professor of Christian Ministry and Church Music and George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University.

The Choir I Hear

The choir I hear
Is composed of all the singers
I have conducted,
All the singers with whom I have sung,
All the singers I have ever heard.

The anthem they sing
Is composed of all the magical moments
I have conducted,
All the magical moments I have sung,
All the magical moments I have ever heard.

And they sing, giving themselves to the music
As lovers give themselves to each other.
They create another world
And live there together
From downbeat to cut-off through the shimmering trailing silence
That reverberates as it settles in
The third ear;
A decrescendo that pierces into the heart.
There, it pulses, still.

This is the choir I hear
When there are no choirs.

Terry W. York