Singing after Silence

Singing after Silence
Advent 2; Luke 1:68-89 (Song of Zechariah)
Zechariah sang after silence.
Without that muted waiting, 
would he have found his song?

Doubt left him wordless,
no questions or answers, just listening.
Long awaited birth woke eloquence.

Our world is clamorous; 
impatient with waiting, we exile silence,
deaf to the still, small voice of mystery.

There’s no hope of birth
without the growing space of gestation,
without fear of risk and labour’s primal cries.

Too many songs now are noise,
howling platitudes of love lost.
The God of love waits in silence.

Can waiting attune us
to hear starry songs of angels,
and to sing dawn-fresh words of praise?
	Barbara Messner 6/12/2024