A NAME

A NAME

. . . Surprise is a  name of God.

~Brother David Steindl-Rast

 

Who else would bring a pair of owls

to circle my head on New Year’s night?

Or a fox to the front step

just at sunset yesterday? Who

could have handed us a little child

with round cheeks, his mother’s mouth,

his daddy’s smiling eyes?

In the gray and icy drizzle of winter,

who else would have sent a foot of snow,

north wind to slice through our dismay?

Or gathered us together

and crowned us with roses,

taught us how to sing?

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April prompt #26

April prompt #26

An adult who affected you strongly as a child

Janice’s #1

 

MRS. FARRINGTON KILLING THEORY

 

Tonic. Sub-dominant. Every Good Boy

Does Fine. The ruler across the knuckles.

The yellow notebook. Erasers balanced

on the hands. It is forbidden to play

by ear. I can read music in my sleep.

My hand position is old-style perfect.

I cannot improvise to save my life.

Playing Mozart, I always forget to breathe.

April prompt #9

April prompt #9

KEEP STRANGE COMPANY

Ray’s #1

 

We prefer tunes in the Crixian mode.

We turn our cranks backwards.

Our shoes have pointed heels.

We knit socks from dental floss.

No wonder we have so few friends.

We give our neighbors pies of greens

we stole from their gardens in the night.

Five roosters roost on our roof.

Every single morning, no matter what

the weather, we greet the dawn

with Morris dancing on the lawn.

MAGIC CARPET

 

MAGIC CARPET

ENCANTO

ENCANTO

~for the singers

 

When we sing, we sing. We become

the song. Notes have ceased to matter.

Our heart beats the pattern, the shape

 

of the time, the space of the spiral

where we stand.   We drink harmony

from the fountain;  we’re held

 

in the great mystery’s form. Farewell

to self-entanglement. We’re bending

like willows. The valley rejoices.

 

Unlonely, we journey through the night.

As each stone adds its voice

to the singing of the stream,

 

even our troubles flow like love.

We are beautiful and good.

All our mouth is filled with music.

BERNIE’S ALL-STAR KAZOO BAND

 

BERNIE’S ALL-STAR KAZOO BAND

~July 4, 2015

 

Ask anyone who knows me–

I am not famous for waving the flag.

 

But this year, on the Fourth,

marching down Main St., USA

with a band of friends,

 

reflecting many cheers,

deflecting some silences,

absorbing a single obscenity,

 

passing under the big Old Glory

hanging above the street

as we played “This Land is Your Land”—

 

well, for once I thought,

maybe,

just maybe it is.

BEING ALTO

BEING ALTO

(with apologies to my soprano friends)

You read music. Good. Sing alto.

 ~My junior high chorus teacher

 

My flute, silver bell,

white-throated sparrow

ready to soar–

grounded.

 

But what do sopranos

know of harmonies

needed and given,

composer’s confidence?

 

Striding around the repertory

I’ve learned to hold the form,

tune to the root,

listen hard for the inner voice.