I am eight in a blue striped chair listening.There is a song that makes me tear upA pure high pitched voice sings ice cream castlesclouds and dreams and a refrain I don’tfully understand but somehow do in my belly.I am eighteen and I know the woman singingthat song wrote the song when she wasn’tmuch older … Continue reading Both Sides
Be Light
Widor's Toccata, fr. Symphony for Organ No. 5, generally lasts around 6 minutes.Longer than it takesto readthispoem (I promise)A well- wornRecessional featured atRoyal weddings,Funerals n-such -itspeaks tothe vitality- some might say-freneticism of walkinginto the light.Go forth, it says.Be brilliance,stamina,be the orderedrepetitionand deep basspulse of lifeCelebrate.It’s a showcase for organists and,I hear, notan insurmountabletask to learn. … Continue reading Be Light
Blood Song
Years ago,we listened behind the closed door to our high- school -aged daughters, working onthe Wailin Jenny’s tune, Beautiful Dawn. We smiled knowing they shared some tingly good blood harmonies & were finding a flow and a feeling. There’s a thrill in meeting one another in a room, on a porch, on hillsideto sing the … Continue reading Blood Song
Inevitable
InevitableSo then, we areInevitableFollow our starsAll the days your songs remember meAll your songs still leave their mark on meAging gracefully so inevitablyInevitableSo then, we areInevitableFollow our starsHigh above the heavens sing to meWordless phrases ring a bell for meOpen arms embrace the mystery with youInevitableSo, then, we areAll your songs still leave their mark … Continue reading Inevitable
Junkyard Song
All the singing we did in carstrails behind us.Cartoon notesflutter from open windowsin the time beforeair conditioningandtape decks.An old brown Ramblermay still be rusting somewherealongside an aquamarineFord station wagonbusted seat cushions hummingthe harmonies.When we were violinsHornsDrumsClarinetsgoingdoodle doodle doodle doodle det
Preparing to Meet Maestro
Siinnnnngg-Ah, emphasize the ng abuzz in the nosethe four descending notes on Ah, listen to thoseOur director pushes us higher and higher up the scale in a warmup that leaves me dizzy and cold. Lately, I sing Tenor and had forgotten the fun of readingtreble clef, transposing an octave down, the thrill of carrying a … Continue reading Preparing to Meet Maestro
Play Like You Are About to Start Crying
The clock keeps time tic toc Round and round again, our ordered nonsensetracks like a fuguey finger exerciserattles our bones, we play like we’re about to start cryingwhile the tension of a steady beat, beats steadyhalts the nonsense of tears, shakes floorboardsand walls instead. Woman at the window watches rain waters rise and the land … Continue reading Play Like You Are About to Start Crying
Early Morning Poems 