Listen
(Emma Skogstad)

It will become so clear,

the voice that will arise

out of the whirling din,

free from the children whispering,

“Stay silent and safe”;

the teenagers swearing, laughing, cynical;

the jeering crowds roaring,

“Who do you think you are?”

Out of all that noise, this voice

Will be soft and certain:

“You are you,” it will say.

“Befriend everything.”

In words, in longing,

in a solitary quiver

deep within the body,

this voice will urge you on,

deeper and deeper

into your own messy humanity,

prodding you into grace and foolishness,

into heartbreaking misunderstandings

and merciful intimacy with your senses,

mud between your toes,

the soft hands of another on your hands.

It won’t direct you to bliss

or moral perfection, this voice,

but it will guide you in the direction

of your own authentic life,

where you will listen, ever attentive,

for reminders from the one that loves you.

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