Panis Angelicus

Panis Angelicus
Christopher Bogart

I heard Franck’s Panis Angelicus
Recently on the radio.

I found myself singing
As the scenery slowly drifted past.

My voice was so simple
As the music was simple
Like an obvious argument
Whose conclusion is obviously known,
Like the Latin that lingers
In the midst of the mind
In the mist of the memory
Of a seminary student
Who has heard its sweet melody
Time after time past.

There’s an unornamented elegance
In the simplicity of this melody,
In the simplicity of this sound,
Of the sound of my own voice,
Singing,
As if I were singing
This long-ago melody
For the very first time.