"May we find each other in the silence between the words. May we heal the loneliness of our expertise with the wisdom of our service. May we honor in ourselves and all others the deep and simple impulse to live, to find sacred space and open land. May we remember that the yearning to be holy is a part of everyone and the only hope for the next thousand years."  ~Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Some days leave you speechless. Yesterday was such a day. From early morning as I caught snippets of the coverage of Inauguration Day, I found myself without words, adequate words anyway, to name my feelings and observations. I know that there were people who went along without noticing but I believe they were few and far between. Nearly everyone I know, whether they voted for Barak Obama or not, recognized the pivotal, historic moment we were witnessing. Words could not, can not, describe the breadth of the moment, the day.

Which is why i am so glad that there was a poet in the crowd, a poet commissioned to find just the right words, only a few words, that would mark the inauguration. The carefully chosen words(for isn't that what poets do?) by Elizabeth Alexander will be read and reread many times over the next weeks. English teachers will hand the poem out to students who will analyze it, criticize it and eventually,perhaps, write a paper about it. More words, too many words.

Several months ago I listened to an interview of Professor Alexander talking about her process of writing this important poem. She was asked if she was frightened or nervous about what people's about tackling such an awesome task. She answered that she couldn't think of it that way, the profundity that might be anticipated. She simply had to do what she knew how to do…write a poem.

And she did:…."Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of……….In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun." These words are only a few she chose, the right words for the right moment.

And perhaps that is exactly what we do on this new day which seems to hold so much promise for healing a wounded nation, of mending so many broken hearts. All that is really asked of any of us is to choose just a few good words, to speak them truthfully and then give ourselves to the task of listening deeply to one another. It is my prayer that our new president woke this morning ready to do just that. In the end it may be the holy poet in each of us that brings about the change we have longed for.