Presence

Presence

Rena Ong

Scrolling through my playlist,
I sensed…. God, In the long
note, teased on a violin.

Down-bow pulling my heart-strings.
Earth’s boundaries fall away, until
I soar amongst Kepler’s planetary scales…

Those chords -am I hearing
“Pie Jesu”- that run of notes breasting
the ageless frequency we call
divine harmony? Oh! The God note.

The pause……..between notes
The silence known before anything was
A millisecond, skip of a heartbeat.
Spirit and body entwined, I dance.

---

Rena Ong
Poet

Rena Ong is from England, yet has lived in Singapore for many years with her Singaporean husband. The italicized words in this poem are adapted from John O’Donohue’s book Beauty.

 Photography by Siyuan