Driving across the Berkshires on my way to Rochester for a funeral, I listened to the music of Over the Rhine. The song “Broken Angels” penetrated my soul and reminded me once again what soft and fragile yet resilient creatures we are. Complete with it’s reference to poet Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese, this song touches so many themes of the edge we walk, holding the tension of the opposites of spirit and matter, saint and sinner, life and death. You can listen to the whole song here. A glimpse at some of the lyrics for you…

I want to take a break from heartache
Drive away from all the tears I’ve cried
I’m a wasteland down inside
In the crawlspace under heaven
In the landscape of a wounded heart
I don’t know where to start

But the wild geese of Mary
Pierce the darkness with a song
And a light I’ve been running from
And running for so long
As their feathers spin their stories
I can still cling to my fears
Or I can run but they come along
And we both disappear just like all

All these broken angels
All these tattered wings
All these things come alive in me