Before Prayer

I first met Brian in the early 1990s when he was a member of the Dale Warland Singers and I was their composer in residence. For many years I have enjoyed hearing his voice on Minnesota Public Radio, and now it is a delight to set his own words in this piece honoring his long service to choral music.

BEFORE PRAYER

Before we kneel,
before we bow and bend
and search in the dark
for words of the heart…
Lifetimes ago
the stars gave you
their kindness:
like a hand
to graze your brow,
to raise your head,
to lay you back
and wash your eyes clean.
Earth ever turns,
past failure, past frost,
past shadow and harm.
Frozen fields break
each spring
and are blessed
in rain, in dawn.
These stars, this sun…
Before you kneel,
before you bow and bend –
see all this light.

Brian Newhouse
October 2022