Waltz
lazy grey waltz
show me the steps
glide across the floor
a feather
in the fiddler’s sleeve
<>
shadow-creased vision
hushed distance of recall
layered webs flickering
smokey images crumbling
wondering
how did I get this way,
so far, far away
from the hoedown moon?
<>
a sorrow tugs at my sleeve
timid but persistent,
when the river flows
it’s easy to wash it away;
the sun dries me so quick
here it is back again
a tear to keep me in check,
wondering
why did I turn around
when I heard night
sweep the webs away
again
against my will to know
that it was time
to strike up the band
<>
languid hazel waltz
watch my steps
as they skip over the lawn
a thorn in the fiddler’s shoe
<>
my life is the mist
hovering around the moon
cutting golden across the floor
through the opening windows
of the haystack ballrooms
where here comes that waltz
again
slow & close, almost in tears,
slightly futile, music echoes
you are far away & I dance alone
again
out into a moonless night
<>
smooth white waltz
follow my steps
carefree through harvest fields
a gleam
in the fiddler’s eye
July 14/75
This is another structured piece with the repetition of something colour waltz – fiddler’s something as a chorus through out. It proved to be ideal for performing & on the east coast I had a fiddler friend of mine improvise while I read it. It was quite magical.
Every word & image has been thoughtfully worked out to progress to the ending. ‘show me’ to ‘watch me’ to ‘follow me’ – the move from learning to expressing to teaching. I am happy with the sense of melancholy that hangs like a mist around the piece – a sadness that doesn’t drift into depression or melodrama but becomes a Zen acceptance of the imperfection of life.
You might notice the influence of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon in the rustic images. I was/am no country boy so this is a very romanticized longing for haystacks & hoedowns. A longing for the innocence of farm life, farm life without work involved 🙂
All my images appear in this piece as well, the moon, mists, music & that intangible reach for something equally as intangible. Perhaps emotional connection? Physical connection – the waltz is a dance for two people in close intimate contact. Who is this fiddler? God? Life? Death?
I do have a limited number of the original Distant Music chapbook for sale for $25.00 each (includes surface mail postage). Send via the paypal above along with where to send it.
TOpoet 