☀️ The Daily Boost #815

May we be turned into song

The Daily Boost (published weekdays) is one of the newsletters of The Raft, the online community of author Phyllis Cole-Dai. We Rafters ride the river of life buoyed by music, poetry, and other arts, along with open spiritual practice. Most everything here is free, but patrons (paid subscribers) get some special perks because Phyllis is extra grateful for their support. Sign up here:

SING ME AWAKE
Music by Elizabeth Alexander
Lyrics: Gregory Orr's untitled poem
["This is what was bequeathed us"]

This is what was bequeathed us:
This earth the beloved left
And, leaving,
Left to us.

No other world
But this one:
Willows and the river
And the factory
With its black smokestacks.

No other shore, only this bank
On which the living gather.

No meaning but what we find here.
No purpose but what we make.

That, and the beloved’s clear instructions:
Turn me into song; sing me awake.

(My thanks to the poet Gregory Orr, composer Elizabeth Alexander, the CorVoce Chamber Choir, pianist Steve Norquist, and the Lake String Quartet.)

The Gentle Nudge

• MONDAY: “Riffing on The Singing Stick”—my online book bash. I’d love for you to come! Details and RSVP here.

• THURSDAY: Poetry Pick-Me-Up (Zoom, 12:00-1:00PM Central, at this link)