As The Old City Sings

All of Jerusalem sings 

I can hear the distant wails that howl from the Western Wall 

The first winter to fall in over five years 

My breath becoming staggered with each step along the cobblestone of the old city 

There is a wind in my chest 

As I hurry back to the monastery 

Faces buried in old script and text 

We’ve been here for weeks 

Rising early with the call to prayer outside the temple

All of Jerusalem sings 

They cry, celebrate, and make pleas with the God above 

“The young in seminary still have their troubles” 

Cried the priest 

In a sacred city such as this, you will find their woes  

A battle song of faith and logic 

A choir of those who seek and those who hide 

A ballad of hope and suffering 

These ancient walls call forth our humanity 

We are young, but we crave 

Divine connection 

So we sing in discipline and surrender 

As the old city sings 

We join in its choir  

Tomorrow, we head north to Galilee