Lord,

I heard your voice today!
I heard it, I really did!
Aoife bounced into the kitchen,
delighted with her afternoon in town
and told me,
“Mammy
I saw a poster in town today
and it made me think of you.
It said,
‘Sing as if no-one is listening!’
And I just thought of you!”

And that was you, Lord,
your voice speaking to me
through Aoife’s lips.
You were right, Lord,
sure aren’t you always?
That’s it in a nutshell,
what I’ve been working on
for months,
expressed so precisely, so accurately
by 15 year-old Aoife.

That’s where I need to be,
singing as if no-one is listening.
I managed it the first time,
do you remember?
Fr David had said to me,
“Forget that anyone is listening.
Forget that I am listening to you.”
And on that first day
I was able to do that,
to sing as if no-one was listening,
except you, of course!

I feel as if I’ve been climbing a mountain
in the mist
and the mist has just lifted
and I look around
and I’ve reached the place
where I wanted to be
without realising it.
I’ve been here for a while
and couldn’t see it.
So I plant my flag on this peak
with Aoife’s help.
It says on it,
“Sing as if no-one’s listening …
… except God”.

(c) Claire Murray