Music and Poetry

Music and poetry seem to go together, both with rhythm and color inherent in their being. I just recently enjoyed an event celebrating a new book called Chopin with Cherries (available via Lulu) which celebrates the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth with poetry new and old. I'm pleased that one of my poems, "Goodbye to Poland," was selected for the anthology. The bond between poetry and music was reinforced for me at a reading/performance arranged by the editor, Maja Trochimczyk, at South Pasadena Library. Many of us read our poems, and between poetry sets, an established pianist and a collection of students from Azusa Pacific University played Chopin pieces on the grand piano. The alternation drew depths from the music and from the poetry that I hadn't expected. I plan to listen to music with my poetry reading more often, now.

Feeling Groovy Again

I heard the Simon and Garfunkle song with the refrain, “Feeling Groovy,” yesterday and it made me think about seeing and feeling. The singer greets the objects in his life as if they are friends, has time to “watch your flowers growing.” Once, when the song was new, I was connected to nature more or less that closely. Then, I began to focus on my work and ignore the natural world around me. Only recently have I tuned in again, seen the moon’s phases, the trees antics with losing and regaining leaves, the clouds in the sky. I am happy to be seeing nature again, and hope to stay connected. With the song, I’m feeling groovy.