Monday, October 10, 2011

Structurally Sound

Structurally Sound

How softly should beginnings begin
so they mark a shift in sound, yet
do not startle you away, listener.
First silence, then the first stirrings
of intended noise. Fingers lifting to
strings, oxygen sucked into a mouth,
numbers. One two three, two two three,
the song is here. We can step into it,
inhabit it, its voice feels familiar.
The chords, the walls. The melody,
the light, and harmonies for windows.
We want to live inside of it, to bask
in sound waves. If we can stay here,
we will never die, will never not know
that plain objects possess magic
that we activate, the silver stapler,
the glossy calendar, the brick building
against the gray sky, these can shimmer
with longing when we look at them
with the right eyes. Generosity, yours,
calls out, and every sound comes
inching out to greet you, the tambourine
and the hands that hold and collide
with it, the obedient guitar strings.
The chorus, a succession of beds
for you to choose from and climb
into. You know this will end, that
minutes will paddle faster and faster,
the song will retreat as you chase it,
transpose itself into a higher key,
beatific. The gospel choir, an aerial
view of what you will soon return to
as it approaches. See how natural
endings are, the outro croons,
as a whole house scuttles away,
dragging the block behind it
like a billowing, sparkling nebula.

9 comments

  1. This piece resounds for me the attention I need to pay to the present. 'Remember, Be here now', BaBa Ram Dass

    Thank You.

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  2. "we will never die, will never not know
    that plain objects possess magic
    that we activate, the silver stapler,
    the glossy calendar, the brick building
    against the gray sky, these can shimmer
    with longing when we look at them
    with the right eyes."

    Fantastic, all the way. Imagination about imagination.

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  3. Love it! I was pulled gently in, along, and out the whole way. I'm so glad I'm not the only person in the world who uses the word "outro"!

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  4. I always feel that if we are in it we remain unaware of outside and how other's feel....this poem is very profound for me, I think it made me a little sad but I don't know why.

    Beautiful as always! Happy Monday Hannah!

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  5. Your interest in music shines through in this poem. I really love the phrase "the song will retreat as you chase it, transpose itself into a higher key, beatific" as it gets at the elusive elevating aspect of music.

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  6. One of the best poetic uses I've seen for the concept that sound/musical waves are the actual structure of reality.

    I like the way it's left ambiguous whether it's the musician or the listener here, and as the metaphor expands, between feeling what is and creating it. There is no difference between them, ultimately.

    An ambitious poetic statement, ringing with music.

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  7. A delight to read. "See how natural endings / are...." Nice touch. Wry. Beautifully drawn to a close.

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  8. I read this at work while sitting across from a woman who was (at the same moment I was reading the poem) singing a little gospel under her breath as she typed.

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