Let Love Have My Hands

LET LOVE HAVE MY HANDS — For Mother Teresa — [Intro — Solo female / sung, unaccompanied] Where does a prayer go When the singing ends? [Verse 1 — Female alto / intimate piano] Morning gathers over Calcutta Shutters rise along the street A white sari edged in blue Moves against the rushing feet Teresa stops beside a doorway And kneels to meet a stranger's eyes The city hurries on around them She gives this moment of her life [Pre-Chorus — Warm male enters / gently sung] Before the story Before the name Someone is thirsty Someone remains [Chorus — Female lead / male harmony] Let love have my hands Let love have my time Let it interrupt This hurried life of mine When I cannot find the words Let me pull a chair beside you Let love have my hands And teach them what to do [French response — Small choir / tender, legato] Je suis là Tout près de toi Je suis là Tu comptes pour moi [Verse 2 — Male baritone / cello and low organ] Her letters held a hidden darkness A longing words could barely hold The one so many called a lantern Knew nights without a guiding glow Still morning came with work before her Still someone waited at a door A prayer could tremble in the silence And hands reach out once more [Pre-Chorus 2 — Female and male / interwoven] Within the silence Within the ache A place beside us That love can make [Chorus 2 — Duet / choir opens into harmony] Let love have my hands Let love have my time Let it interrupt This hurried life of mine When I cannot find the words Let me pull a chair beside you Let love have my hands And teach them what to do [French response — Choir / widening] Nous sommes là Tout près de toi Nous sommes là Tu comptes pour nous [Instrumental — Cello carries the hook / breathing choir vowels] Ooh— Ah— [Bridge — Female / fully sung, piano only] I have walked past open doorways With a prayer upon my tongue I have asked for love to find us While my own two hands did nothing God, when I cannot feel You Keep my eyes upon this face Let me ask what they are needing Let me listen Let me stay [Brief silence] [Final Chorus — Full mixed choir / soaring female lead] Let love have our hands Let love have our time Let it interrupt These hurried lives of ours Every face beyond the doorway Has a name we do not know Let love have our hands And teach us where to go [Counter-melody — Male rising / choir sustained] Beyond the hymn Beyond this room Into the day We carry You [French coda — Choir / warm, then receding] Nous sommes là Tout près de toi Que nos mains deviennent Un abri pour toi [Outro — Solo female / opening melody returns] Where does a prayer go When the singing ends? [Softly sung / close, no accompaniment] Here are my hands.