The Universe sings.

The Universe sings. I hear it when I leave my ears and my mind open to its faint but resounding
tones that seem to resonate through a cosmic cord that links all of nature.

In my youth I heard it sing songs of joy and wonder, energetic, wistful little tunes that made the
leaves on the trees dance to the beat of a magic drum that softly carried the melody of enchantment. As a young man in the sixties the tenor and beat changed to one of fear and trepidation as some of my friends received draft notices. Later a death dirge filled the air as daily war casualty reports included the names of those friends and relatives.

The low humming of anxiety followed me as I rode on a bus to El Paso, Texas for my induction physical. When I failed the Army’s “Fit-to-serve” standards a compelling crescendo of relief mixed with an ominous guilt refrain filled my being as long as Viet Nam continued to take the lives of young soldiers. When the war was over, a somber spirit in the dry New Mexico wind sang a tune of mourning and liberation for those lost and those saved.

Today when the musical instruments of my soul should be playing proud stanzas of accomplishment and mature recollections. As my children’s children grow to become a legacy of my symphony of life, those old songs of apprehension fill the air. How could a world with so much to offer brought about by a civilization with so much to give, be taken back to a time when foolishness and recklessness created meaningless war.

Once again the Universe sings songs of dispute and demagoguery of defeat and despair as a consortium of ignorance leads us like demonic drum majors marching their band to hell.

I don’t know what cosmic songs the youth of this world are hearing today. I feel confident their internal music is a tangled mixture of fear mixed with hope in weird percussions of failure and misunderstanding brought about by malicious misinformation.

I can only pray to the Gods that strum cords of harmony on harps of peace that a new song is emerging and that the Universe will once again sing a chorus of Joy to the world before I no longer hear the music.