Choir Practice

Choir Practice

Katie Setterberg

“Not again,” echoes forth 
as she wails silently 
searching, eyes wide 
in disbelief.

How does a heart 
withstand such pain?
“It cannot,” she sings out
from the deepest place.  

He cries from the corners 
of his eyes, a river of loss 
falling into the cavern of his mouth, 
a brook run backwards 
toward its beginning.

“Where do put I it?” she demands, 
“Where can I put the ache?
I need a shelf where
no one can touch it,”
hitting the highest note.

“I put it in a box covered over 
by life’s wanderings,” he recalls, 
in a remorseful way
in between breaths.

To put it out in the open, 
“audacious at best,”

in unison.

And yet - how else can we live?  

She reaches up to the shelf, 
taking it down, hope and doubt, 
unlocking the door 
to the abandoned house, 

bellowing out, bellowing out.

If Christ is not risen, count 
us the greatest of fools.

---

Katie Setterberg
Counselor & Poet

Katie’s writing reflects her work as a professional counselor and mother. She lives with her family in Atlanta, GA and serves alongside her husband, an Anglican priest, in their local parish. In addition to poetry, Katie writes for children and released her debut picture book From Your Head to Your Toes in 2020. Find Katie at www.westsidestorybooks.com and on Instagram (@katie.setterberg)

Photography by Eugene Angoluk