spiritual/s

spiritual/s

we sang spirituals today in church

commemorating Black History Month

the preacher pointed out the double entendre

of heavenly and earthly salvation

in songs like Deep River and Sweet Chariot —

crossing the Ohio (long after Israel crossed the Jordan)

led former slaves to real freedom

and the underground railroad network

swung low and wide to gather them in

at the end we sang Lift Every Voice

and I was struck by how powerful it was

to sing that song in a black congregation,

how much better they sing it (of course!),

and how intertwined are the themes of slavery and freedom

with the core convictions of Christian salvation

so intertwined in fact

that I have long sung that song as my own

even though it was written for others

with experience quite different from mine

I’d been feeling restless

at loose ends

unmoored —

and in a way I can’t really explain

that service was a balm for my ennui

just the singing was part of it

losing myself in familiar melodies and lyrics

beating a tambourine

it was also

the sense that here was a God I knew

a God who knows me

and I found myself reconnected

your soul is not ungrounded

my husband said

I guess he was right

sunday 12 february

2017 after epiphany

Penns Landing, Tortola