August 1st

   "I hear a voice I had not known:

'I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
    your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
   I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
   I tested you at the waters of Meribah'" Psalm 81:6-7

our muscles are knotted so tight

that simply taking a breath 

causes us to whimper in pain

until you lean over and gently

begin to massage our shoulders

while talking of the exercises

we might try on our own, using

the bands of cloth left over

from that night in Bethlehem as aids.

we hear the thunder of angry voices

all around us, crashing down and

trying to drown out the whispers

of grace and love, until in the silence

after the voices run out of steam,

come those gentle melodies 

you first taught to the songbirds

to share with us, until we learned

them by heart.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman