First Movement

A silence hovers in the air,

But expectation’s also waiting there.

The music strives to be awoken.

Creation takes a breath before the start,

But all remains unspoken

Until the player peers into her heart

And pulls upon the string

Connecting past all space and time

To draw from sound’s eternal spring.

Vibrations blossom, spread, and climb

To touch each sympathetic soul and ring

Exactly as they should.

The first notes open out to bring

Awareness of the coming greater good.

While I was visiting my family this past month, I had the opportunity to play my cello at a couple different places. Music might be the way in which I connect most purely with the sacredness I believe is at the foundation of everything. Especially when I'm playing a piece of music, I often feel as if the melodies and harmonies already exist in some sort of timeless ether, and my role is to channel it, bringing it into the physical world, where it can radiate outward and touch the ears and hearts of others.

A Sacred Peace

What comes to me
In majesty
Is something every eye can see.

Surrounding and containing me

Are pieces of a greater whole.

Connected lives each fill a role

And speak to my expectant soul

Without a word. They set me free,

Imagining what hidden things might be

Existing underneath the macroscopic plane.

It’s not that there’s no loss or strain.

In conflict, competition, pain,

And death, so much of life is found,

But with it all, a greater hope is bound,

For somehow, stable ecosystems form,

Resilient to withstand each storm

That sweeps across the rooted, textured ground.

And here, as each new year goes round,

Death turns to resurrection,

And life’s eternal, grand direction

From young to old folds back upon itself to mold

A newer generation to behold

The future – to, perhaps, explore

The sacred peace their lives restore,

Which comes to me

And shares its harmony –

More beautiful than crystal chandeliers –

With bird songs ringing hymn-like in my ears.

As I begin to share poetry on this blog, this composition feels like a good starting point. It delves into some of the key themes that surface in much of what I write: my love of nature and my wonder in discovering the connections that link all of life together. It originated while I was circling a pond during one of my visits to the arboretum at the University of Illinois. Some of the phrases you just read began to grow in my head, so I sat down on my favorite bench, started writing, and didn't stop until the poem was done.