I caught Sergei Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil.
The plaintive tones of the Ave Maria.
Time was now utterly still.
A deep sense of joy, wisdom and sophia.

It was by chance I heard it.
The daily grinding news turned off.
Now joy was here, a candle lit.
Calm, peace, no more to hear people scoff.

A glorious adornment of the Russian Orthodox Church
Is it the stunning polyphony.
A vespers for every hearts stilling, fulfilling my search.
Or a spiritual harmony.

But it is something far more simple yet exalted.
For one brief moment, an ascent to heaven and time halted.