The Fast...

Without music
I feel overwhelmed -
like thirsty grass
yielding
to merciless August heat.
The absence of strings and voices
Reveals some empty place
inside me -
a dark, dank crawl space
where challenging questions
lie in wait.
If I could just return
to the rushing, mystical beauty
of music
I would not have to “face the music”
in my restless soul.

Vicki Ix, OSB
Lent, 2012