Somewhere Under The Sky

By Ken Woodley

A bird sang in the darkness outside my window
somewhere under the sky but where I could
not touch the light of the sun or the stars
even though I tried
and where the sun and the stars could
not touch me with their light
even though they tried.
And I felt my soul spread the wings of that bird and fly
from my room up towards heaven,
asking why I cannot touch the sun and the stars
when I am wrapped in darkness
and why they cannot touch me with their light
even though the effort by us all feels desperate and everlasting.
And the bird began to sing
and in its song my soul heard an answer:
that God had been singing to me
outside my window somewhere under the sky
hoping I would reach out to the reaching out of God
—instead of reaching for the sun and the stars—
and find my wings and believe in my song
that God was singing outside my window somewhere under the sky
and far closer to me than the light of the sun and the stars ever could be.
So, with my wings I fly now,
singing the song that God gave me somewhere under the sky
but content to have the sun and the stars above me,
wanting only for all of us to reach out toward each other
and bathe each other with the light we share
—instead of with the darkness—
and shine together night and day
somewhere under the sky
upon this all-too-vulnerable Earth
where we can be brighter than the sun by day
and brighter than the stars by night
for each other
when we reach out to one another with God’s hands
and allow God to reach out to others with ours
like the song of a bird just outside every window,
singing about their wings to those who do not believe they can fly,
and about their light to those who do not believe they can shine,
just as God did for me
in the flightless wilds of my darkened wilderness,
spreading the wings of Jesus into light
somewhere under the sky
all around me.
Somewhere under the sky around us all.