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Written by Dr. Terry Chitwood

The Sound of Flowers Blooming

Dare You to Move
Shots of Silence: No Country for Old Men

White RoseI open my hotel-room door and a seven-year-old girl in a bright dress smiles at me as she passes by. She is carrying a white rose and leading a wedding party. I had just opened my heart more to my writing before leaving my room.

Later, at Barnes and Noble in the poetry section I notice a book, The Music Lover’s Poetry Anthology, which has been here since the last time I visited San Diego almost two months ago. I feel a little sad that no one cared to buy it since my last visit. On the other hand, maybe the book was waiting for me to buy it. I found this Basho poem in the book.

The temple bell stops—

but the sound keeps coming

out of the flowers.

(Translated by Robert Bly)

My son, Will, had a recent dream in which Warren Buffet gave him a billion dollars. My son probably will surpass me as a stock-picker. I’m glad for him. My recent dreams have had guitars in them. But my guitars sit in their cases—untouched. Instead of playing them, I worry about the melodies of my songs being too weak. While contemplating a melody of a song I wrote not too long ago, I peruse a book on melody and find the song “Killing Me Softly” which has repetitive notes in the beginning like my song. My song’s melody is more skip-wise complex but not as catchy. I’m probably worried about my songs’ melodies because I’m afraid of having a distinct musical voice.

I would like my musical voice to be:

The sound of flowers blooming

The scent of a song on the wind

The taste of sunlight

In the air

Photo Credit: Photo by Sharon Mollerus at Flickr Creative Commons.

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Dare You to Move
Shots of Silence: No Country for Old Men

Filed Under: Music, Writing Tagged: music, Music Lover's Poetry Anthology, musical voice, poetry, writing

Comments

  1. Debbie says

    July 14, 2011 at 5:20 am

    Never be afraid to accept the gift God gives you. Blessings, Debbie
    Debbie recently posted..Not Accidentally Tuesday – The Piggy BankMy Profile

    Reply
    • Terry says

      July 14, 2011 at 12:07 pm

      Thank you for your kind comment, Debbie.
      Terry recently posted..Dare You to MoveMy Profile

      Reply
  2. Pamela says

    July 14, 2011 at 9:19 am

    Gifts of God are never misplaced. Embrace the gift and you’ll be surprise — your voice will probably sound just like you had hoped.

    Blessings,
    Pamela
    Pamela recently posted..Sheltering through Heartfelt GratitudeMy Profile

    Reply
    • Terry says

      July 14, 2011 at 12:32 pm

      Thank you for your sincere and thoughtful comment, Pamela. In retrospect, I should have elaborated on what I meant by a distinct musical voice. I received emails from readers who thought I was referring to my singing voice. I can see where my lack of elaboration confused them. In using the term a distinct musical voice I was referring to a distinct compositional style that could be identified melodically (in admiration of Bach). Another needed clarification is that the poem “The Sound of Flowers Blooming” was written by me and was not a continuation of Basho’s poem. However, my poem was inspired by Basho’s poem.
      Terry recently posted..Dare You to MoveMy Profile

      Reply

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