Saudade
A thousand years ago a song was sung
near a campfire at night
by a singer who was alone, exiled
perhaps, or seeking;
a song whose words were not meant
to be understood, only to be heard,
offered to the silence
and sung in the key of loss.
It confirmed the universe is empty
and dark and knows nothing of us.
Of what we offer, life takes what it wants
and goes.
Exhausted with living
we all listen for a sound
we don’t expect to hear.
A thousand years ago a singer
tended the last coals of a fire and sang
the most beautiful song ever sung,
which no one heard,
and it is the song I need now.
by Robert Rice
from Rattle #89, Fall 2025
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