We Become Birds

The words in this song are from The Spiritual Life of Children by Pulitzer Prize winning author Robert Coles. Michael Peter Smith opened to a a page that contained the words of two different children, a Southern Baptist girl and an indigenous Zuni girl. He used just their words as lyrics to weave a perfect vision of what they thought might happen in life and death. Then added he added the music. We Become Birds has brought comfort to so many people. When he or I performed it there was an inevitable moment with someone in the audience who needed to hear it ... then and there. Children bring spiritual magic and wisdom into the world and our lives everyday. I asked Al Power to do an arrangement for a second album of Michael Peter Smith songs "Every Town". We lost Michael to cancer in 2020. Less than a week ago I was delighted by my first surprise "live" observation of a murmuration (I pulled over and took a video). I thought I might eventually use the video with this arrangement. But today being Indigenous Peoples Day and yesterday learning of the incomprehensible death of an Interlochen Arts Academy friend, the brilliant, kind violist Penelope Knuth, I felt compelled to complete it. May it bring some comfort to any who need it.