They are here,
These whispers of hope
that insist on singing under the dust and rubble of these streets of pain.
We will have to stand still, shush any rising urge to explain away
tanks and hostages and terrors in the night sky.
We will have to press our ear to the earth,
where the soil cries out under her breath in silent protest.
Hope does not bellow from a hypnotic bell tower.
Neither does it blow from the trumpet of force or frontlines.
Hope rises as a tiny falsetto, whose vibrations build and build and build upon a thousand
Tiny movements of resistance until there is peace.
They are here,
These whispers of hope
under the dust and rubble,
Calling us to join a melody God has been whistling from the beginning.
Chad serves as interim Conference Minister, Indiana-Kentucky Conference, United Church of Christ, USA.
Photo by Bruce Shotland, USA
