The Reason Why I Sing

I am alive and open to the world – it
         affects me. Life twists
and turns and aches and loves,
all that adding brushstrokes to my canvas.
Showing new perspectives of myself.

I, like a fine instrument,
respond to every touch. The rain, the pain,
a stranger's smile, all pluck a string – resounding
and responding: the echo lingers, not for long.
Beneath it all, a steady beat declares that all may change, and will,
yet there is which remains.
Silence.

Joys in life make happy tones
– dance! my soul –
but sweeter yet is that which comes
at a cost. Sorrows, like a flood,
come pouring through me, eating out ravines and furrows, channeling,
making room within me to prepare
for coming joy.


I am a heart, and this is the reason why I sing.
For to sing is to live – which means I can't refrain.