Paul Bole wants us to write about the magic or the madness of music. From any time and any kind.
PS...Linda and Paul have been without a working computer for awhile but hope to get a new one this coming week. They promise to catch up with comments and poems once they get the new one and get it set up. They thank you for your patience.
music huh? too easy. one i wrote at 4 a.m. last night.
ReplyDeleteI DID IT MY WAY
" all my life i been searching for something. something never comes. never leads to nothing " - all my life - the foo fighters.
my band was pretty cool
though the drummer was a fool
spent more time fighting
than string tightening
from lenin, to lennon
music changed minds
making people feel like they belong
vinyl treasure found in old junk shop finds
arthritis means i can no longer play the bass guitar
but i can still blow the harp
and perform once a week
at my favourite bar
i'm still pretty sharp
though the smoking makes my breath pretty weak
" he can't be a man,'cos he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me " - the rolling stones.
harmonica solo, till fade.
I like the nostalgic feeling of this one... I think the smoking line could be rewritten but love the last harmonica solo, till fade line. I actually think you could drop that smoking line and the poem would work even better. I know I'm hung up on that line.
DeleteI like this a lot. I personally think the poem should end with "at my favourite bar." I think this is so good I want to edit it, and I hope you understand that's a compliment.
Deletemaybe you are right bonita, but the smoking line goes with the rolling stones line and week and weak is such an easy rhyme when you are in a hurry ha ha - no harmonica playing allowed in the library. i'd get ssshhhhd - paul.
Deletethanks victoria, i do take that as a compliment. performing at my favourite bar tonight. gonna scare the kids with my very early poetry. shit! it even scares me ha ha. sometimes i change the poems on stage, or just drop the book and improvise.....depending on how much belgian lager i've had - harmonica solos - paul.
DeleteNice poem, nicely descriptive and most interesting.
Deletethanks tash. i always try to be interesting - love - paul.
Deletean old poem from many moons ago.
ReplyDeleteMESSAGE TO JOHN LENNON
" only love matters...nothing else " - my zoe.
hey john, it's been a while mate
still living in a transitory state
with an uncertain fate
but giving peace a chance
is better than living in a trance
i used to think that being a working class hero was something to be
now i just want my blankie and something for free
dear john, the modern world would make you angry, but also give you smiles
they named a liverpool airport for you. the ludicrousness of john lennon air miles
aaaawwww john, we came so close to instant karma
you with yoko and me with a woman called farmer
nobody but you told me there would be days like this
watching the wheels go round. hoping for a virginia kiss
another chance to hit, or miss
amid so many musical fakes and mistakes, you were the real deal
always keeping it real and telling me how to feel
hair. peace. love
on the wings of a tarnished dove
hope you are raising hell in heaven
you are the only singer, whose songs went uo to eleven
now slimy bastards in shiny suits raise a tide against you
but i'm still letting it be and passing on through
" this man said it's grusome that someone so handsome should care " - this charming man - the smiths.
" i would never be a member of a club that would have someone like me as a member " - groucho marx.
beautiful tribute to a great musician.
DeleteNice tribute. I have to admit, "dear John" made me unintentionally laugh when I know that wasn't what was intended. I don't know if it applies over there, but here a "Dear John" letter is one that a woman writes a man to break up with him.
Deletethanks bonita. i could have put up 50 music poems, but we are only allowed two. besides my david bowie poem " pretty things " makes grown men cry ha ha - hair. peace. love - paul
Deleteyes vic, i know the phrase. there are a few double meanings in this one. it went down well at my last gig - paul ( not mc cartney. though i was named after him )
DeleteLove that comment at the end! Good job on this one, you can write an exceptionally good one when you try.
Deletean old poem this one tash. not my scary modern stuff. i'll spare you that - love - paul.
DeleteMagical Music
ReplyDeleteThere is magic everywhere
first winter snows bring
the crackle of electricity in the air
soft snow whispers as it touches your hair
Cardinals and blue jays sing
there is magic everywhere
The music nature with us does share
a song to our hearts will bring
the crackle of electricity in the air
The wind whistles a tune so fair
chills your bones and a tear to your eye brings
there is magic everywhere
Listen with joy and care
you'll hear the sleigh bells ring
electricity crackles in the air
your body is alive and aware
all your cares you want to fling
there is magic everywhere
off the snow the sun does glare
as ice on window panes does ping
electricity crackles in the air
there is magic everywhere
Considering your love affair with music, I was surprised you used a metaphor, but I love it. The subject really fits a villanelle too.
Delete" blackbird singing at the break of day " the beatles.
Deletean interesting take on the topic bonita. i hadn't thought of that - love and lapwings song - paul.
Nice take on the prompt. Admiration!
Deleteand here's an old one that fits the topic
ReplyDeleteMusic Lost
Lost in time and space the memories flow
like gentle reminders of yesterday
when her violin sang through the open window
touched the hearts of those who heard,
the ones who stopped and listened
as her sorrow played through the strings
and into their broken hearts.
Now they listen in vain as they strain to hear
the long forgotten music that filled
their hearts and souls with so much emotion
and stirred their very being to the core.
They wonder where has she gone
as they hum the melodies she once
played that now ghost like float into the air.
Haunting. And this one almost reads like music. Took me a few reads to figure out the last line. I thought it had a typo. I think "ghost like" is either one word or hyphenated. I do think it would work better as "played that no float ghost-like into the air." (And it's hyphenated. Tried as one word and it gave me an error.)
Deleteoh yeah! that does read better!
Deletefor some reason reminded me that we put a gold record full of music on the first voyager space craft, for aliens to listen to....it'll take a million years to get anywhere, but i can wait - gimme a high c - paul.
DeleteYes, haunting is a good word to describe it, and lovely, is another. Very evocative.
DeleteFound an old one that fits the prompt. I do plan to try to write a new one too, but we all know how that goes.
ReplyDeleteOPEN MIKE MUSIC AT THE SHORT BEACH SALOON
I sit on a bar stool, get drunk.
Sobriety isn't all
it's cracked up to be. The music beats,
pulses my breastbone, nothing
a stereo can approach. It
doesn't even matter that
the band is bad, just so long as
the music is loud enough
I can't hear my own heart beat, but
music beats through my body
and I forget why I'm here, on
a bar stool, drunk and alone.
awesome! I love it!!!!
Deleteexcellent. you sound like me. i'm nervous before i go on, but totally cool on stage. the drunk and alone bit bites me where it hurts - " one for my baby and one more for the road " - paul.
DeleteMmm, you are such a good poet, so well said in so few lines; I'm envious!
DeleteOkay, I actually wrote a new one.
ReplyDeleteCRIES
On a flight from Dallas
to San Francisco
babies cry
during take-off,
as air pressure changes.
A businessman sits
next to me,
whines, there should not
be infants on airplanes.
His noise offends me.
Babies' cries
are melodies
of human creation,
music of future
ancestors.
beautiful!!! the last verse is powerful.
Deleteagreed, but parents should keep some control over their children. sneezing and throwing up on me on trains is a bit much ha ha - paul.
DeleteOh, yes, another good take on the prompt. Loved that last verse, so nicely said. My turn now,., I'm on it!
DeleteMusic to my Ears
ReplyDeleteI hear music in the blowing of the wind,
And when tree branches rustle a message.
When birds sing what are they telling me?
Their song is their language, and my music.
Pots jangle, tableware tinkles, knives jingle;
my electric mixer sings of whipped egg whites.
My kitchen plays to me as I dance in it.
I am the conductor of that orchestra.
All day long here is music to be heard,
a concert played especially for my ears.
you ever play the pots and pans with the spoons tash? fun - love - paul.
Deletethere is music every where if we just listen for it. nicely done.
DeleteAnd here is another written recently, the music part is less important yet still there...
ReplyDelete" the past is only in your head. so forget your head and you'll be free " - david bowie.
Deletepretty sure what birds are telling me now - love and wren song - paul.
A Timely Dance
ReplyDeleteI stand at the crossroads of Time
one foot in the past, raised
to step into the present, one foot
in the future waiting for the other
to catch up, yet it never will.
Because as I put one foot
down the other raises up.
It's called the march of time,
and like the white queen
I march in place, in order
to continue to be there because
there isn't any other place to be.
Because as soon as I step into
the future it becomes the present
and I must keep marching.
Or is it dancing that I do
to music as it plays in a timely
fashion, guiding my measured steps.
I march, dance, walk, move
and time passes always in the present.
wow... this one gave me chills.
Deletethe future isn't what it used to be, but we gotta keep marching on - lost in the past - paul.
Delete