A Service of Mourning.

(Five READERS, wearing around their shoulders plain white or black shawls large enough to veil the whole head and face. They either stand facing the congregation or, if the service is done in a circle, stand evenly spaced among them.)

HYMN (spoken):

I felt a Funeral in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading -- treading -- till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through --


And when they were all seated,
A Service, like a Drum --
Kept beating -- beating -- till I thought
My Mind was going numb --


And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space -- began to toll,


As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here --

And then a Plank in Reason broke,
And I dropped down, and down--
And hit a World at every plunge,
And Finished knowing -- then --

(Silence for a short time.)

FIRST READER: We have learned again that nothing is forbidden: not because everything is permitted, but because nothing is prevented.

SECOND READER: One who saves a life, saves a world; one who destroys a life, destroys a world. So many worlds destroyed: the ruin in the streets, and the wrecked hearts.

THIRD READER: We each owe the world a death. And we each earn it: by every cruelty, by every complacency, by every missed opportunity: wasted time, wasted fuel, wasted breath. But those who bring death at random for vengeance sake understand nothing; they do not punish and they do not avenge.

FOURTH READER: They make themselves merciless in the cause of mercy; they shame their own pride.

FIFTH READER: There is no pardon and no vengeance for such malice.

CONGREGATION: And we who escaped; and we who were not there; how shall we live, seeing that we still live? And how shall we live without our lost?

FIRST READER: When the breath is stopped, we comprehend: each breath uttered God's name.

SECOND READER: When the body is Cold, we know: warmth is a holy grace.

THIRD READER: When the body is not found, we cannot rest: we seek the unquiet dust.

FOURTH READER: When the voice is lost, we listen: there is nowhere we do not hope for it.

(The FIFTH READER covers his/her face.)

CONGREGATION: Deep calleth unto deep, the deep of our misery unto the deep of thy mercy.

FIRST READER: And what dire obligations, and what losses, await us after these?

SECOND READER: What punishment can touch dead murderers? What open war can reach conspirators?

THIRD READER: What measures to protect us will imperil us?

(The FOURTH READER covers his/her face.)

CONGREGATION: Let real fears burn away our false anxieties.

FIRST READER: Ourselves, our allies and our enemies must falter in our certainties.

SECOND READER: Seek peace and pursue it, to the place where it hides from us in its fear.

(The THIRD READER covers his/her face.)

CONGREGATION:

Those who enjoy great potencies

Of voltages, of energies

For the sake of the serenities

Must listen to the silences,

Make peace with the humilities.

FIRST READER: May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be adequate to the task. Keep us from dereliction, that we, set in the midst of so many and great dangers, may not deceive ourselves about their nature. Our peace is lost, and we have one recourse: to make a culture worthy of our losses.

(The SECOND READER and then the FIRST READER cover their faces.)

CONGREGATION: They that have power to hurt and will do none: They are the lords and owners of their faces.

(The five READERS unveil and stand for a moment, then leave the room, the CONGREGATION following.)

Catherine Madsen is contributing editor and book review editor for CrossCurrents.