(no subject)
for Mr. Sutherland
there was a time
when Mr. Sutherland
sang a hymn and i
thought that it
was worthy of
a few lines of verse
but the curse returned
and the lines
were stifled amidst
the cries of life
and now i cannot
write it down
for i have forgotten
what it was he sang
or how he sang it
and the scraps of paper
that remind me
are blind and lifeless
stillborn ink
and i think it is better
this way and this time
for today
as the rain falls
and the cool air calls me
to some higher purpose
to remember him
singing, not as he did
but as he didn't
perfect and clear
and flawless
a musical offering
fit for the King
unlike anything
i had ever been
pure enough to sing.
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l.l