The Duo

In rare moments when he is vulnerable—softer, more open than usual—he begins to speak of his friend, his mentor. We are all listening, the group of us, held in wonder beneath the wooden beams of this majestic hall.

As I listen, I ponder whether this hall was built in the custom of barn raising: in the tradition of using the labor of a community to build a barn for one. It feels that way. And it feels the same now. Our collective alchemy has opened a space for one, in a way that makes us all stronger.

He says, “I loved him. And he challenged me. We differed and with that difference came disruptions between us. These disruptions became openings for emergent ideas, creative impulses that I believe could not have been possible had we not allowed for such openings to occur.”

After a barn is raised, the community can gather there, work there. Similarly, when a space opens for one voice, that voice becomes an invitation for another. As I listen to him speak of this dance with his mentor, I can feel music rising within me, responding to the sound of his words in this hallowed hall. It is a new song, this song, dancing with his words, arising from my heart for the first time.

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