On the night of September 11, 2001, in the wake of the terrorist bombings, air traffic was grounded for several days. That night, late, I sat outside, as I often do, and looked up. The farm is about 70 miles south of the Atlanta airport and, on the average night, planes routinely light up the sky en route to Hartsfield. The absence of any such movement, while not immediately noticeable, did catch my attention.

Behind all those stars, in the seeming silence of the night sky, I wondered, as most of us have perhaps, what God would want us to learn from the calamity of that day. That’s what inspired this song. While specific answers might not be easy to ascertain, I am confident that, at times of tragedy, God would have us look up, and be reminded that, always, "deeper Love is reaching down."

Silent Sky

There are silent skies above us, there is thunder all around

There's a foreign fear that's found us, but deeper Love is reaching down

Clouds of doubt break out in teardrops, upon the bloody ground

There are ashes on the rooftops, but deeper Love is reaching down

Ever deeper than the silence

Is the heart of One Who weeps

Who Himself has known the violence

Of the anger in the streets

Through the twisted steel and fire, beggars search for reasons why

Starlight leads us deeper, higher, beyond the silent sky

Past the silent skies above us, there is Love that reaches down...

Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky

Love of Jesus reaching down, even now "the moon is round"

(Copyright Allen C. Levi, 2001)