Waiting for my son to emerge from surgery,
Unsettled by the discord of hospital noise,
I entered the nearby meditation room
And sat in the welcome silence
To calm my head and my heart.
A moment after I closed my eyes
Another person entered the quiet space.
Rolling out a small rug,
He began aloud the entreaties to his God.
His small voice cloaked me with unexpected comfort.
Hearing the ancient supplication - - Allah, Allah
I felt a sense of gratitude to be witness
to his age-old prayer.
Days later, my son has unresolved complications.
For my own comfort in this new uncertainty,
I wonder - - do I trespass when I hear in my head,
Allah, Allah?
In my deep interior I am drawn to
The alluring softness of this venerable sound - -
Allah, Allah.