Spirals of Light | Meira Warshauer

(1996)

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Inst:

flute, cello, piano

Duration:

18 minutes

Publisher:

Hildegard Publishing Company

Commission:

Columbia College Departments of Music and History and Political Science

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Spirals of Light invites the listener into the sacred center, swirling and spiraling into stillness. The quiet, which follows, resonates with the mystery of the Infinite. Joyous energy then awakens, flowing into the world.

Spirals of Light trio and the poem by Ani Tuzman were commissioned and premiered by the Columbia College Departments of Music and History and Political Science, Columbia, South Carolina, 1996. They form the core of a concert and CD with the same title, which includes several other Warshauer compositions, interwoven with Tuzman’s poetry.

Reading the Spirals of Light poem prior to performing the trio can enhance the depth of experience for the audience.

Spirals of Light
I.
Time
rests,
bows to its creator,
bows
to the one time serves.
The angels lean forward to watch
as the spirals begin
their slow whirl into the stillness.

Let your breath be drawn in and flow out,
your breath- in and out.

There is no hurry.

Let the breath take you
to the center of the universe
within you.

Leave behind your thoughts and fears.
Allow your mind to rest.

Come, follow the spirals
to the heart of stillness,
as you whirl like a dancer,
slower and slower
into the center of yourself:
the luminous core.
Come. Your desire is enough,
your willingness to enter this sacred space.

The holy presence hovers,
it is your own inner shimmering.

II.
Here within, there are no words.
The soul sings.
Here, the yearning for peace
is fulfilled
in shared solitude.
We touch the infinite.

Here, yearning itself dissolves
Into a single note of love.

III.
Angels unravel strands of light like banners, like waves.
Can it be that everything
is made of dancing light?
The floor, the shoes on my feet–
dancing light?
My feet themselves, each toe?
Can we wait any longer to find out?

Flowers burst in a storm of glory.
My heart bursts with seeds:
the dance is in my cells.
It is everywhere.
The song in every cell reveals itself
in every detail of creation.

The holy presence hovers.
It is our own shimmering.
This vision is not some exotic place – distant.
It is here. Paradise, here.
Here in breathing,
in the inner dance of light
that raises the soul.
Paradise – in the longing,
in the delight of finding,
in the spirals whirling in joy.

It is always new – this creation.
Each of our songs –
the notes of our hunger,
the notes of our ecstasy
woven into the fabric of light.

The holy presence hovers.
It is our own shimmering.

Angels unravel their strands
like banners, like waves of the sea,
great spirals of light.