The Choir

Two attempts

Aug 25, 2022

I heard a great quote. I tried to write a poem about it. I tried again, and again, and again.

I ended up with two versions. The first one doesn’t quite work. I put it through the wringer but I just can’t smooth it out. The second version came out so satisfying! When rhythm and rhyme show up it always surprises me. But I still think there’s value in the first one, so I’m keeping it too, however broken. Which one do you prefer? Is the first one fixable? If any of you want to take a crack at editing or adding to it, I’d love to see it, put it in the comments.

Clint McElroy, The Adventure Zone

Our bodies are choirs, and we are the song they are singing.
Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about the song
and just start singing it.

The Choir (a)

Ancestry borne of survival
Progress built on progress
From simple needs met
Complex systems arise
Spawned of chance, then luck
Ever honed

Meal delivery, waste removal,
Water and power included
Gainful employment matched to strengths
Heavy lifting, security forces, scientific analysis
What were you born to do

All strata in tandem, forming
Systems of governance, service industries,
Built by individuals together
Connection is inherent, inexorable

It’s cold outside of this skin

Small, brief lives
Composing, performing
Shining as brightly as anyone can
Getting their work done
Taking time to relax
Just being themselves
Along with everyone else
Never questioning
Never knowing

The scope of their reach

is beyond comprehension

—js 5/31/22

The Choir (b)

Who all are you?
What were you born to do?
Do you chant in song
Pushing oxygen through?

Why were you made?
What shape do you take?
Do you hammer the beat
Raise and lower a leg?

What is your speciality?
Your inborn functionality?
Do you access the lyric
In a mental capacity?

The stem was the same
Then each went their own way
Set to differentiate
Their passions at play

So sing! Each one sings
In their crafted pursuit
Some fight the invaders
Others hold up the roof

Ancestry come of survival
From simple needs met
Spawned of chance, then luck
Compounding the set

A strong one for lifting
A speedy one to transmit
A limber one for the stretch
A smart one to record it

They’re not us, but us
In our myriad parts
Their crescendo is coming
And their glory is ours

Never questioned, unknowing
The scope of their reach
The whole of their lives
What they make and complete

Composing, performing,
Resting, then working,
Occurring, enduring,
Evolving, refining,
and sure, harmonizing
Many trillions aligning

Combining, Being
All our lives long
Our bodies are choirs
and we are their song

—js 7/22

Share Everything Takes Forever

Back to School Night, 2nd Grade:

We went to the Broad Museum

So inspiring to see something competely made up become physically real

While at the Broad, don’t forget to visit an alternate dimension!

Helping

Life is too busy to even discuss. But before I hit publish, I have a favor to ask.

My friends at Family Circle of Orange (they’re almost ready to open to the public!) are helping me fundraise for homeless youth mentorship in Orange County. Stand Up for Kids OC does amazing work with the most vulnerable in our community, turning lives around every day.

I’ve been working with Brittany - she is now the fundraising and marketing manager of Stand Up for Kids OC. You would never know she had been through so much - except for her laser-focus on doing her absolute best for our youth.

Teens and young adults that have lost their way due to abuse and abandonment are among the hardest to reach in the homeless community. They fear being turned over to foster situations and back to abusive relatives. They can be nearly invisible, still attending high school or college while couch surfing, living out of their car, or sleeping in the streets. Many were kicked out of their homes for coming out as LGBTQ+. They are often mired in drug addiciton and underage sex work. All deserve to be seen on their own terms and shown that they still have a chance.