Written piece
Intuition
Joanna Sahadeo
Trinidad and Tobago
About this piece
Within humanity, the king can be likened to intuition, the ancestral thread woven, the common wealth hidden.
In a still, small voice the king says, ‘The minors, the sevenths, and the ninths, sound like the heavenliest of chords.’
‘They do,’ his minstrel answers.
‘Yet why do you seem so downcast this evening? You are quite passionate about music.’
‘If I may ask, night after night, is this so meaningful to you? What is the importance of this? It is questioned if I am doing anything at all here? Is there nothing more that you require of me?’
‘Be at peace. It is not a race of how many things accomplished or how many things acquired. Too busy is as dangerous as too idle. Workers I have, of which I am grateful, but my only friend is you. Who pursues? Who waits? Who avails oneself to listen to my voice? Let it not be drowned out by the loud voices surrounding us. Let it not die.’
‘I will not. I too value your friendship. It gives depth to my music, and your wisdom, I cannot live without. How many times have you saved my life? Your light shows the whereabouts worth travelling. I am overwhelmed by the trust and the safety I sincerely feel. There are times that I may momentarily forget and may be swayed by the crowd’s opinions yet I will always conclude at the remembrance of the greatest treasure of my life, that is, to know your quiet yet powerful voice.’