— after George Eliot, “The Choir Indivisible” and William Henry Channing, “Symphony”George Eliot prayed that she reachthe purest heaven;be the cup of strength to those in agony. I pray only to survive whilegrasping at the crumbling edgesof a giant hole into which I fall. I try to smile, try to join in,feed pure love, ignore the vile,turn the world back to being kind. I don’t want to live in a worldwhere women bleed out in cars becausecraven doctors betray oaths to care for us. I try the common, I try the quiet,I try to listen then to sing,but stars refuse to shine on me.