realization and redemption songs

first off, to explain the title of my last post.

I bought a cd in the "world music" section of my favorite tower records that is awesome. I forget their names, cause the cd hasnt been out of my player long enough to not read the front, but its a compilation between a 85 year old cuban pianist and the worlds most famous spanish flamenco style singer. sin piedad "without mercy", is one of the best songs on the album, and i wish i could transfer the emotion of that man's voice to any other medium. its a shame the mediums are so hard to mix well. thats why movies are so great, but i digress. anyway, great music. if anybody wants more info, i can supply it on request.

I have been writing and journaling a lot these past few weeks. hopefully it bleeds over into my blogging. the stuff im writing, though, seems very personal, and ive been hesitant to share it with anyone. It feels raw and unpolished, and very vulnerable. now, i know i havent figured out levity yet when it comes to writing on this blog, but this stuff seems even more dense than stuff in the past. maybe its time to change the template to something pastel.

I have always admired the way whitman united the poems of LOG into thematic sections (like "drum taps" and "calamus"). When the poem are combined within the parameters of a ruling theme the mindset of the author seems easier to access. the theme can tie together disparate images, and the poems within the section seem to take on a congruence that gives the work a real strength. I figured out what i have been writing recently has two seperate central themes: realization and redemption (or reconciliation). They feel like songs, or like chants, and some of them even feel like mantras. you know how much i love repetition. anyway, i will begin to post a few here. here is the first of the realization poems:

Patrochlus

Which sirens were you chasing?
In the dripping daylight
Upon what precipice did you hope to meet them?
Which arms were you opening?
And whose voice left your lungs and screamed against the wind?
It was only a wind because of your speed against it.
Why so intent?
Patrochlus—oh my rider.

It’s not your armor.
And the rising sound from the wall
Is not your war.
Patrochlus, I love you like a brother.
Don’t be strong.
Or brave,
Or single-handed
Stay back by the fast black ships and wait.
Oh Patrochlus—oh my rider!


EG, you're on the clock. Special K, you too.

sin piedad

i have an hour left before my 24 hour promise with EG expires and i fall into bloggers prison. im glad for good friends to push me back into blogging.

I have been waking up with fully formed songs, poems, thoughts in my head recently. It is the strangest thing. I woke up last week with a full song in my head, chorus, bridge, melody, complete with some cool lyrics. of course, i went back to sleep and when i woke up it was gone, but there have been a few things that have stayed. here is one haiku from a few weeks ago.


porcelain containers,

break like a whisper,

spill their contents like a sigh.


In other news, there is a red tide happening here in san diego. at night the dynoplankton (at least thats what a friend said they were) light up the breaking crests of waves with their electroluminescence. I have been going down to the beach every night, usually to different beaches to watch the waves breaking. even late at night the beaches still draw a crowd. I was with a friend the other night, and she remarked that it seemed like something occult, all these people gathering on the beaches to watch the waves glow. in the darkness, before a set comes in, the sea is black, but then waves break in quick succession and the wash is bright green. Glowstick green. It is really amazing. Now, i am no marine biologist, but ive heard that a red tide is horrible for the environment, as it shows how global warming and pollution are destroying the delicate balance of the ocean. I hear that shellfish are dying, and that the tide is evidence of a sickening earth. If that is the case, then i think its ironic that we congregate on the beach to watch the glow. Almsot in the same way people would congregate to watch a nuclear sunrise, but on a much smaller scale. There is something very meaningful in that relationship between sickness and beauty. I leave it to other april-ites to expand. if you want to see the tide first hand, well, ive got a pretty empty house here in SD and a lot of time on my hands.

have a great weekend one and all.

EG, you are now on the clock. 24 hours. dont fail me.

-aaron
p.s. i'll explain the title in my next blog