Strange But True

It might sound strange but there are songs that I associate with people, places and events. Music plays such a gigantic role in my daily life, and it's such a well recognized mnemonic device, that this should come as no surprise, really. I hear certain tracks from certain bands and it takes me back to a time or place or, occasionally, some song will contain some lyrical element that reminds me of someone or something. Because it's me, I can't settle on just basic recall, I have to take it an extra step beyond and add fate to the mix.

I'll give my most recent experience as an example.

I have two songs that I distinctly and specifically (is it superfluous to use both of those together) associate with one person. One of them is a good connection, one of them is bad. I won't get into why that is or what songs they are, but that's how it is. When I have a bad experience with this person, I often hear the 'bad' song come up on my playlist, or sometimes precede the encounter, almost like a warning. When this song plays in relation to this person it is invariably bad news. On the inevitable flip side, there's also a song that means good things and the last time I heard it, good things did indeed happen. It's the weirdest thing but these two songs really seem to know whether dealing with this person will be a chore or a treat and I try to take heed.

It's not a flawless system, to be sure, but it's currently running at about 90% accuracy, so I'm holding to it.

Bear in mind, this also doesn't happen with everybody and everything, so sitting down and listening to an album, or my playlist on random, doesn't dredge up a whole lot of memories and emotions and anxiety, or anything. It happens once in a while, and usually with some purpose. Am I reading into this? Very possibly, yes. Does it matter? Not really, no.

It was a strange enough phenomenon that I figured I'd share.

Later!

Return to Poetry Corner

The poem I was discussing in my last post is finally 'done'. I put that last word in quotes because I'm still not 100% set on the title or the ending. I recently sent it off to a friend for a critique and as I typed it out I found myself hating the original ending. I changed it probably five times before finally sending it off. I won't hear back for a few days, but I'm feeling pretty confident that this is the way it'll probably stay, so I'm posting it here as such.

Fade to Black

It's late and you've fallen asleep in my arms.
Our bodies entwined, flesh to flesh, fitting
effortlessly together like two found pieces
completing a puzzle.
The low light of the room amplifies
the silence. I can only see the contours
of your face by the warm glow of the candlelight,
the rest of you dissolving beyond and below
the blanket that covers us.
Your eyes that, only hours ago, looked at
me with desire and your lips that tasted
my longing, now lie quiet and still.
I hold you and feel the warmth of your body
against me, the rhythm of your breath, comforting.
I brush your hair back with my hand, touch your cheek,
but you don't stir.
I don't think I've ever seen you
so peaceful,
so still,
so beautiful.
I wonder to myself how long I'll have this moment,
have you.
I watch the last embers of light die
as you fade to black
and quietly await the dawn.

So, there it is. Number three in a series, I guess. My wife calls my stuff 'sad-sack' writing because of the subject matter I deal with. It's all about love, loss, and the big one, longing. I suppose she has a point, but some of the so-called sad stuff I don't actually view as sad. That may say something about me as a person, but we'll leave that little bit of psycho-analysis right there.

That's it for today. If you're reading this, I hope you like the poem. Comments are welcomed if you feel moved to do so. I should also point out that this is my fifth or sixth post this year which means I'm already doing 5 times better at updating this blog than I have in the past.

It's a good thing.

Cheers.

At It Again

Had an idea, thought of a moment, a feeling, I wanted to capture, wrote another poem. Still needs some work. I've already massaged it a bit beyond what's contained in this sketch, here, but I'm hopeful it'll turn out good.



10 or 20 more of these and I just might start submitting this stuff for real.

m