Amen (Say It Back)

When I say it, say it back.

When I say it, say it back.
(amen)
Amen.

Amen — say it back.
When I say it, say it back.
(amen)

The doors opened wide. By midnight
the week, the rent, the phone call, the wait —
but I know what this room does with weight:
four hundred shoulders share it till it's air.
The kick is the oldest yes there is.
The bass agrees in its low honest voice.
You don't need the words to the verses.
The chorus is one word. You know it.
The drummer in the booth leans on the crash
like punctuation for the yes.

Whatever you buried, bring it.
Whatever you prayed, it's heard.
Four hundred voices, one word —
say it like you mean the word.

Amen — say it back!
(amen)
Say it back, say it back.
Amen — say it back!
(amen)
Say it back, say it back.
Amen — say it back!
(amen)
One word bouncing off the back door.

When I say it, say it back.
(amen!)
Louder for the ones at the back.
(amen)

The woman by the drums said it crying.
The man behind me said it laughing.
A girl said it in Portuguese —
same word. Same word. It travels.
A man back out after the bad year
said it with both fists closed,
and said it over with them open —
and that, right there, is the whole religion.
The lights went warm at that one —
even the rig was listening.

Whatever you buried, bring it.
Whatever you prayed, it's heard.
Four hundred voices, one word —
say it like you mean the word.

Amen — say it back!
(amen)
Say it back, say it back.
Amen — say it back!
(amen)
Fists open at the speaker stack.

The speaker stack hums like an organ.
The floor is a long wooden pew tonight.
Somebody's phone is up and streaming
to a gran who says it back from her kitchen.

For the shift that ran long — amen.
For the month that tried you — amen.
For the door that closed — amen.
For the one that's opening,
slow, but opening — amen.
When I say it — say it back.
Three, two, one —

Amen — say it back!
(amen)
Say it back, say it back.
Amen — say it back.
(amen)
One word rattling the window glass.

When I say it, say it back.
(amen)
Amen.

When I say it, say it back.
(amen)
Amen.