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Posts Tagged ‘song’

You Are My Sunshine in a Minor Key

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on December 4, 2017| 1 Comment »

 

 

 

astonished how much light

can fill a note so dark—

singing it again, again

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One Relearning

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on November 9, 2017| 4 Comments »

but I forgot the words

I said, and the tree said

sing without them

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Before Sleep

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on September 27, 2017| 2 Comments »

 

 

 

I sing to my daughter

in the dark and discover

I am nine again, and

hear the voice of my own

mother, singing

 

from outside the window

the river fills in the spaces

where the song ends

before it begins again, and then

there is only the river

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Four from Chicago

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on August 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

 

 

 

One When My Grandfather was Still Alive

 

 

in the subway tunnel

the arching notes of Danny Boy

on a violin—

I walk slower to meet the train

I arrive twelve years ago

 

One Courage

 

 

hearing the moan on the other side

or is it a low laugh—

still choosing to open the door

 

 

One Near Totality

 

 

eclipse behind the clouds

so much beauty we never see—

sunflower blooming in a distant field

 

 

 

 

One New Time Signature

 

my father a song

I used to think I knew—

this morning, I hear

the same song with new ears,

or is it that the tune has changed—

all day I hum it,

all day I feel lucky

to hear him humming back

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One Soundtrack

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on August 9, 2017| 4 Comments »

 

 

 

writing you a love song

with no measures—

it will take a lifetime to sing

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On the Day When You Are Too Busy

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 25, 2017| 3 Comments »

 

            for all the busy people

 

 

that’s when I hope you remember

the skylark, not so much the bird,

though that, too—how it sings

even while being chased by hunters,

though it increases its chances

of being caught.

 

But more, I hope you will think

of Johnny Mercer who struggled

a year to write the words

to the tune by Hoagy Carmichael.

By the time he finished Skylark,

Carmichael had forgotten

all about the song.

Sometimes, it takes a long,

long time before the words

come out right. Sometimes,

the moment just isn’t ripe. Sometimes

there’s just too much to do.

 

But perhaps amidst the meetings

and the plans, a snatch of song

will come to you, something

that won’t be ignored.

Perhaps between the papers

and the rush, you will feel it,

winging. Perhaps, as you fly off

toward the always what’s next,

you won’t stop yourself

from singing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Request, Of Sorts

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 14, 2017| 4 Comments »

 

 

 

A piano is just

some wood and strings

until it’s touched—

and then it sings.

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Odd Joy in Paradox Valley

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on March 15, 2017| 2 Comments »

 

 

 

Driving through Bedrock,

population 14, I remember

sitting on the stoop of the general store

and asking Rose to come out from behind the counter

and sing me a song about sorrow.

Crazy how a sad song could make me

so happy. Crazy how every time I drive by

I still smile to think of her voice,

soaring as the red rock cliffs,

haunting as the windows shuttered and dark.

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One Time Signature

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on March 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

 

 

 

trickle in the desert—

it takes so little water

to make a song

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Letting the Small Ache Sing

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on September 26, 2016| 1 Comment »

 

 

 

Not yet dirt,

the outline

of squirrel is still visible

on the hard earth

of the back road—

I step over what remains,

wonder

how many other lives

I’m walking on.

There are infinite ways

to praise,

among them

these words:

I am sorry.

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