Monday, October 2, 2023

Whispers of Solitude

Music to accompany the poem: Anouar Brahem “Le Pas du Chat Noir”.

It’s only when you are alone,

      you can see yourself as you truly are

              in all your despair, in all your wretchedness.

You can also catch a glimpse of your shadow

               and see what you have tried so hard not to.


Tête à tête with  one’s own soul

                                         can be terrifying.                 

There is no one to hold our hand,

                                  no one to be consoled by, no one to soothe our pain.

 

Jesus spent forty days in a desert,

           alone with his anguish, his loneliness, and his vulnerability.

                                                    He listened  to the whispers of solitude,

                                                                            and he was ready for crucifixion.

He passed through a ‘straight gate’ of existence,

                                                   and he died to his old self for his sins,

                                                                                                   not for ours,

                                                                                                                     to be born anew.

                He became what he always was—

                                                            human, all too human.

 

So you, too, must listen to the whispers of solitude, and be ready.

                                And the readiness is all, said Hamlet, before he fell silent.

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