Music

February 23, 2023February 23, 2023

February’s Weariness of Winter

The snow is relentless while the wind plays

a relentless tug of war amongst the pine boughs

and the lichen still weighs heavy on the naked

branches of a Winter tree sleeping soundly

for no one is waking, no colors calling time out

in the midst of gray, overcast skies devoid of blue

there is no music from the chorus of songbirds

no not even the noisy caws of blackbirds annoy

there is no restlessness except in one’s heart

where no golden hued rays of sun penetrate

only whispers of sullen notes of music not played

the darkest of which are sly demons before dawn

Image is My Photo

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021

The Mystery of Words

There can be a tempest within my soul
on days where I’m unable to see the light
from a sun that is surely bathing me
in the heated glow of its’ rays

yet there are those days when the rays
of brilliance from that same sun radiate
through me and fill the day with bird song

song that touches every living creature’s
being with two legs to four legs to none
for even the tree feels the vibrations
in trunks, branches and fluttering leaves

leaving me in awe of it all, of the mystery
of the unnoticed brilliance of communication
the musical enhanced scores all around us

those are the days I again recall the words
whose magic enables me to speak from my heart
where the wordsmith rises again within my soul
a mystery e’er but the ocean tempest is stilled

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

A Dance of Trees and Bossa Nova

The clouds black in the distance
with patches of blue sky mingled in
as the clouds migrate close overhead

big fat drops of rain are resounding
everywhere they are hitting
with a big plop, a splat, being replaced
with millions more in their place

as I listen to the gentle, smooth refrain
of jazz and bossa nova I watch intently
trees in the distance are seemingly
swaying to and fro, branches lithe
leaves tremble as though listening

when it is the wind of nature’s breath
that propels them in their dancing
gives them the moves of the bossa nova
the rhythm of life as if speaking to me

what a glorious day to just be alive
to absorb your sounds of music playing
as we flutter to the peaceful strains
in synchronous harmony with the wind

The Image Below Is My Photo Created As Art

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019

The Alchemy of Water

Music swells up like mighty ocean waves
cleansing the sadness of my soul
permeating my thoughts
to quell the firestorm
within my mind

to which my dreams find me walking
along a sandy tided shore
each grain of sand sparkling
diamonds in a beam
of moonlight

a vestige matching my footprints
each one a solid reflection
of a path only I have walked
in heartache, despair
& triumph

before the salty brine of tides
comes to collect them again
to assuage each painful step
becoming an alchemist balm
a freeing spirit

August 12, 2019August 13, 2019

New Impressions

Wide open spaces of endless miles
of fields, farms and tracks of homes

stand in stark contrast to cities
choked with factory smoke stacks
with the polluted exhaust of traffic

that rise up to collectively gather
in visible, relentless chains
of greenhouse gases choking
off life giving

oxygen the memories of a lifetime
of living growing accustomed
to cacophonic decibels
of noise
now silenced

replaced with nature’s music
a symphonic aura of colorful
notes

blue skies redolent of wind &
breezes filled with the green
chattering of crickets

sunsets sweeping the horizon
in pink and purple hues
akin to stringed instruments
playing

where a night is lit dazzling
with lightning and thunder
fire bright yellows and orange
an orchestration of astounding
proportions

there are new impressions
waking all my senses, increasing
my awareness

to add to and multiply memories
creating the complexity
& beauty
of a life

Image Taken From Public Domain Pictures

May 27, 2019May 27, 2019

The tall piece of bamboo sets in the corner
as though keeping the walls from colliding
with the aboriginal turtle in mustard yellow hues
keeping a silent vigil, a respite, as the rain
signals a force of nature outside my window

I am reminded that I am a creature of water
my molecular being silent within a human shell

the wonder of a million droplets from a cloud
forming a single raindrop is mind boggling
as they gather in rhythmic action

creating puddles, streams, rivers, waterfalls
cascading exponentially into vast oceans
a home for other water beings living
within a life-giving force

and I listen in amazement at the symphony
that brings life to the earth I live on
where brilliant colors of flowers bloom
in gardens tended and meadows flourish
on mountains

replete with nature’s abundance of creatures
beasts walking the land and flocks of birds
taking flight tenured with bird song

am I not enraptured to know my heart
still beats within its fluidic capsule embrace
of the water that holds me ensconced
in safe keeping

that when the rain thus ceases its’ melodic sounds
the bamboo stick awaits but my touch
yearning to recreate rain’s wondrous music
the timeless aboriginal turtle
warm beneath my hand

Background Bamboo Photo Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Overlain With My Take On Aboriginal Turtle Art

November 3, 2017

The Music of The Conch Shell

The conch sea shell is a reminder always
of where it is she really belongs

of small hands holding the beauty
of ocean waves within its’ confines
hugging her ear & she in awe and wonder

even now when she cradles it closely
and listens longingly and intently

she can see the waves building high
coming to crash along the sandy shore
where seabirds add calls to the score

to a music with a wondrous crescendo
the color of sea salt spraying her skin

the wind picking up the string section
with soprano highs & contralto lows
& a sky of variegated blues the backdrop

connecting the ocean stage to the horizon
unseeing of the stage hands hidden below

but bringing memories of dolphins dancing
upon the ocean stage & the magic of whale song
whose singing plays the melody all the while

she knows with utmost certainty she will return
to the place where she really belongs

This was first posted in the last month issue of The Bezine, editor Jamie Dedes, which can be read in more detail at https://thebezine.com/project-type/the-bezine-vol-4-issue-1-music-anniversary-edition-oct-2017. There are two photos below taken from Public Domain Pictures and digitally altered.

Conch Shell Music

September 16, 2017

The Happiness of Music

Visiting family always meant surprises
anticipated from my niece then a girl
who loved everything theater and song

whose tight curly hair & bright eyes
shone like a happy beacon of light

she remembers talk of a voice teacher
& the one time both niece and sister
practiced the violin

but the one memory that dances across
the pages of her mind is the visit
to a restaurant on a clear warm night

where the happiness of the girl seemed
simply to overflow & take flight

so when they walked into the night air
she believed they had left her behind
but not very far had she gone

for the landscape had small hills there
where she stood upon the top of one

hence she raised her arms spread wide
breaking into song to make us smile
‘the hills are alive…

my sister just smiling at the big voice
that filled the night and I sighed

This was first published in the Jamie Dede’s August Issue of the Bezine at https://thebezine.com. The photo below was taken from the Public Domain Pictures and digitally altered.

Love of Music

August 28, 2017

Persuaded By A Smile

I never knew her name and remembrance
of her face has faded from memory
but her kindness still remains steadfast
within the warmth of my beating heart

where upon I still see the upright grand
dusty and in need of repair standing
proudly in the living room of a house
I only encroached drawn by its’ beauty

for she saw I was smitten by its’ presence
and invited me to play for even though
not a lesson had I the music seemed to
pass without pause to my finger tips

as I came to knock each day upon the door
to see the beauty of her smile and knew
that she no longer played but entreated
me to sit once more at the upright grand

This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday Prompt at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/23/mrs-g-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. Please visit her site and read more. The photo below was taken from Morgue File & digitally altered by myself.

Music Piano

December 17, 2016September 2, 2017

More Than A Gift

The gift arrived in my twelfth year
while I was being taught
the accumulation of others’
knowledge in books

during the course of another day
bright sun rays dancing
off concrete and asphalt
dust devils creating havoc
in the schoolyard

the joy on my face evident
upon seeing the Spinet
a large red bow dressing
its’ glossy maple surface
waiting for me
beckoning me

playing the white and black keys
that struck the harp within
a euphoria like no other
healing hidden pain

she had no idea of what time spent
scrimping pennies had done
to raise hopes in a world
changed forever
the year I was ten

the station wagon had lingered
a massive tangled wreck
on the cement driveway
a constant reminder
that a body cannot
always be fixed

I played the Spinet as though
my life depended on it
the music resonating
louder than my heart

the gift arrived in my twelfth year
cradling my hands
as though warm loving arms
helping me to breathe
to lift a wounded spirit
giving space to heal

This has been posted first on Jamie Dede’s site The Bezine at https://thebezine.com/project-type/the-bezine-vol-3-issue-3-december-15-2016. Please do visit and read more posts on this issue’s topic “The Healing Power of The Arts”.

Image Take From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself

peace-of-music