Outside

lone mockingbird

perches on oak branch

holds his early service

 

Inside

Requiem—

benevolent din

spreads her arms

around hushed church

 

Outside

wind whirls

whips crusty leaves at

anxious autumn

 

Inside

cloaked in mystery

harmonies brush callused fists

rub tear stained cheeks

tongues of light

dance radiant lament

through stained-glass

 

Outside

sudden quiet—

has earth stopped turning

all trees frozen, seas dried up?

 

Inside

Dies Irae wafts over

undulating shoulders

stooped in wooden pews

choir incants

endless tangle of Latin

sounds anguish me—numb

 

Outside

rain begins weeping—

aeternam, aeternam, aeternam

sobbing, bleeding onto fresh-dug grave

 

*Inspired by Mozart Requiem- Catholic Mass for the Dead
Dies Irae- Day of Wrath, Aeternam- Eternal

 

by Marianne Lyon

Marianne has been a music teacher for 43 years. After teaching in Hong Kong, she returned to the Napa Valley and has been published in various literary magazines and reviews including Ravens Perch, TWJM Magazine, Earth Daughters and Indiana Voice Journal. She was nominated for the Pushcart prize in 2017. She is a member of the California Writers Club and an Adjunct Professor at Touro University in California.

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