Harmony

Entwined, our voices sound around the room,
Each tone a counter note of harmony,
Some high, some low, some light, some tinged with gloom,
But each important to the company.

The tendency to place a pedestal
And set one part or other on its top,
While pushing others out or under all,
Is habit that is difficult to stop.

Yet if we do not fight against this foe,
Delib’rately acknowledging the need
For every voice and talent high and low,
We’ll miss the beauty centered in our creed.

We’ll lose the chance to see the way our Lord
Can use our body whole to touch the world.

(The word “harmony” naturally made me think of music, and so I thought I’d work with a Shakespearean sonnet. I remember trying to help tenth grade students write these–they seemed so hard! I don’t like them when they’re too ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, but they don’t have to be. Not sure if I succeeded with this one, but I do enjoy the practice.)