High and Low

Kings and princes
Powers of principalities
so far above, they seem,
so far away, they seem.

And the one
who will journey
through the kingdom,
the one who will meet
his subjects, ah, oh,
that one is fated for joy.

Idols and gods,
Glorious music of the universe
So far above, they seem,
So far away, they seem.

And the one
who will pray and
offer herself as vessel,
and after, offer herself
to the people, ah, oh
that one is fated for joy.

High and low!
Oh, through the
confounding of fires,
confusion of waters ,
dispersion of air,
and weight of earth,
when willingly met, ah, oh
we are fated for joy.

Subway Story

I hear their voices call out the stops.
They work, standing,
in a tiny room built into
one of the moving cars,
men and women, letting us know
"there's a train ahead,
we should be moving shortly,
please be patient,"
(tho it always annoys me
when they say "please be
patient," as I prefer
"thank you for your
patience," it's classier).

And they call out the stops
into the handheld
loudspeaker microphone,
in that tiny room
with its one window
and a metal door,
their wide ranging voices
making them seem
larger than life,
heard from every car
on the train.

And I always like it
when I get off the train,
to see the face behind
the voice, as they
stick their necks out
the window of the train,
to see what's up ahead,
and to let us know
the next stop.

Love in a Far Away Land

He fell in love in Lviv.
I knew it as Lemberg,
site of a thousand tales
from an old book
I read as a girl.

He walked down streets
of old Ukrainian city, resonant
with history, unchanged,
unlike bland Soviet
architecture that had
erased the glories
of so many
old places.

He fell in love in Lviv,
and I don't know the season,
but it had to have been
romantic in film noir ways,
turn of head,
lift of jaw,
eyes meeting eyes,
the first kiss.

Ah, were they inside?
Inside old hotel room
redolent of history, with
chandeliers and faded velvet drapes?

Or perhaps
outdoors, in a park,
in green springtime
or in shining snow of winter,
perhaps in front of stately
and beautiful cathedral.

No matter, he fell in love in Lviv,
a city I read of as Lemberg,
many things happened there,
and love, ah no doubt, love, too.