Reeds of God - Caryll Houselander (excerpt)
We are emptiness like hollow in the reed, the narrow riftless emptiness which can have only one destiny: to utter the song that is in the piper's heart. ... The reed grows by the stream. It is the simplest of things, but it must be cut by a sharp knife, hollowed out, stops put in it. It must be shaped and pierced before it can utter the shepherd's song. It is the narrowest emptiness in the world, but the little reed utters God's infinite music. We are lifted up and carved out, formed and shaped and filled with all the music of the earth.