POETRY PROMPT: THE CHOIR STAND

She'd passed the church, but never stopped
But always felt she should
Believing God?
A piece of cake
Church folk?
Not so good.

But off she went
With best intent
To start a life anew
Heard the Word, and felt to join
Was the right thing to do

Born again, at half past 10
She gave the Rev her hand
"I pray you'll find a place to serve
Perhaps, the choir stand?"

I love to sing, but I don't know
I've heard much goes on there
I've heard a hateful spirit waits
To stir up strife, and mess, and hate
That leads people to separate
When pure sounds hit the air

The prerequisite is to sing,
If one should do it well
It should be a welcomed thing
But, to hear some others tell
One would do best to just shut up
Go join the ushers' board
Do anything but sing about
The goodness of the Lord
The choir, Sir, I've often heard's
A messy delegation
I've heard one's best bet is
To just stick with the congregation

I've heard this is where many start
But find more love elsewhere
I've heard many have been wounded
And their wounds, without repair
Characters have been maligned
Reputations shot
Critical, mean-spirited
A most destructive lot.

You'll be accused of being grand
Full of great conceit
You'll be accused of charming all the men
You'd like to meet
I heard, you'll be accused of
Being too professional
It may be said your heartfelt praise
Is just a load of bull

I've heard some singers came to church
And after a few squalls
Had targets placed upon their backs
And couldn't sing at all
The reasons they were given
Were ridiculous at best
Said with stern face, but surely now,
It had to be in jest:

"We have too many people
You may not know the song
Your clothes are the wrong color
Your tone just isn't strong
We're trying something different
The songs are just too fast
Your dues aren't quite current
We know about your past
The choir's not for singers
Just folk who like to sing
"Pleasant to the ear"
Is not our mission in this thing
Mediocrity is fine
We can't put forth our best
If we raise our standard
That's what people will expect
You haven't been here long enough
We haven't got much room
We don't have enough microphones--

Now am I to assume
You want me to become a part
Of this conniving bunch
Who have a history of driving people out to lunch?
Of so infecting people with venom-laden stings
That they leave church altogether
And find someplace safe to sing?

I'm new at this
I'm just a sheep
I need safety and care
Should I become a part of it
Will I be free from fear?
Will there be more negativity within
Than there's without?
Will I become a victim of
What I have heard about?
Should I just save my singing
For my room of porcelain
Where no one's lurking, scheming,
Thinking how to do me in?
Can't I just raise my voice at home
Away from sneer or frown
And when I enter scared doors
Find a seat and sit down?
If all the hurts out in the world
Are multiplied in here
Should I undo what I've just done
Un-shake your hand?---

Be clear.
No matter where you go
You will find an element
That betrays the real mission
Of the one that Our God sent
Don't ever let what others do
Affect you so much, so
That you refuse to shine the light
He's given as you go
No matter what, never silence
What He has placed in you
It's there for a good reason
In spite of what some others do
Keep singing, keep declaring
The glory of His name
Not for fortune, riches, selfish gain or fame
But because He loves you
And wants others to know as well
And they're His songs, and His story
He wants you to tell

Alright then,
I will go and serve, and try to do my best
I wear my feelings on my sleeve
But I'll try to do no less
Than glorify the God I love
No matter where I am
And pray that the miraculous
Moves through the choir stand
That envy, strife and hate
Move out, and Love comes rolling in
That nothing but the love of God
Is heard when songs begin
That nothing but Love is seen
In sounds and claps of hands
That is my prayer
Alright then,
Which way to the choir stand?

VRWc2011