Journal of Alta California

Songs for the Final Passage

alking into a neonatal intensive care unit in Oakland, Margo Leslie prepared herself for what would come next. The pediatric chaplain had called her because a family she’d visited the day before had asked for her to return and sing again. She and a companion would perform bedside for a newborn baby, who was being taken off a ventilator and was expected to die later that day. The father met Leslie and her fellow singer at the entryway.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Journal of Alta California

Journal of Alta California2 min read
The Phenomenology of Place
I first laid eyes on Leaves when it was on view at the Seattle Art Museum in 2007. The dynamic patterning and implied motion within the lateral expanse of the painting were mesmerizing. It called to something deep within me to explore further, drawin
Journal of Alta California17 min read
The bullfighter draws her Sword
In the bullring, she twisted at the waist, stretched both hamstrings, and rolled her right wrist to loosen it up. She had broken her wrist almost two years earlier, and it still had not healed properly. The pain flared up every time she rolled the pa
Journal of Alta California10 min read
P-22’s Life in l.a.
It’s a real sanctuary, the first I’ve discovered since fleeing my birth den and journeying miles and miles through the most alien, booby-trapped hellscape you can imagine. Sure, there’s danger here, too. I’m hemmed in on all sides of this tiny wilder

Related Books & Audiobooks