Pages

Monday, September 6, 2010

Memories, Melodies and Dreams

           
                 

                               The songs I played on keys of white and black
                               Bring back the past in prism hues of light
                               My dreams recur in sequences exact.

                               The tinkling melodies again enact
                               Old days and open up those days delight
                               In songs I played on keys of white and black.

                               Arpeggios cascade the zodiac, 
                               Sonatas rare outrace the stars in flight,
                               My dreams recur in sequences exact.

                               The leaves of all the other autumns crack
                               Beneath my feet; the sounds of fall unite
                               In songs I played on keys of white and black.

                               From sheets of notes too dense for me to track
                               Spellbound by fears, I dared to stay and fight.
                               Those dreams recur in sequences exact.

                               Nostalgic memories cannot retract
                               Old joys or fears, but serve now to requite
                               The songs I played on keys of black and white
                               As dreams recur in sequences exact.

                               © Gay Reiser Cannon. All Rights Reserved

31 comments:

  1. love how you wrapped this around playing the piano...excellent write...i never kearned to play but my sister did, as my mom did, as her mom before her...and i listened and smiled. thanks for the memories...nice one shot!

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is something very weird (in a good way) and wonderful about this line; "As dreams recur in sequences exact." Nice One Shot. Love and Light, Sender

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Brian. I've always played; don't have anything but a keyboard at the beach. Missing my grand.

    @sender - I think when you remember playing, you think of the phrases of music not quite remembering every note but remembering the sequences of the songs you've memorized. It's a little hard to verbalize but this is what I wrote. But thanks for thinking it's wonderful. I wondered if it worked here myself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A life filled with music--how wonderful. I think each of our lives needs a soundtrack.

    ReplyDelete
  5. In what you just replied to @sender, I do think it works. And your reply also reminds me of learning theories that explain a variety of knowledge acquisition in chunks or sequences rather than individual units; and "experts" seem to retain information in greater sequence or series like musical notes, chess moves, and even large phrases of language rather than isolated recombined bits. Indeed, hard to verbalize... Enjoyed the musicality and imagery of the poem very much. Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Adam. Your comments articulate and expounded on what I wanted to say. Didn't even know all that and I appreciate that you liked it too, gracious compliments. Gay

    Timoteo-I tried to give my granddaughter my favorite tunes as she left for college. The tracks overran a dvd. I'm hopelessly in love with music.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Piano always brings back strong memories for me too. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice one...One of the things I will regret not doing is learn how to play the piano before I die.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the memories that a song evokes. I was here when I learned that piece. I tore my hair out on that Sonatina.
    Beautifully equipped with just the right notes.

    A One Shot in perfect rhythm

    Moon smiles

    ReplyDelete
  10. The repetition just adds such a perfect beat to the poem. Lost in the music and in the memories - just beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The repetition is like a forward, flowing motion -- the motion of music. Nice one.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you everyone. I appreciate the comments on the poem. I'm not sure this piece says too much. It's just an experiment with music in a musical form. It's a little limiting too; so it's difficult to get the gravity that D. Thomas did with Do Not Go Gentle.. in most couplets one can come up with and once you have the couplet, the poem seems to rule you rather than otherwise. It's fairly interesting to write, therefore.

    I appreciate that you guys liked the musicality of the piece. I do think that was successful. Thanks for stopping by. Next week I'll post something meatier. Gay

    ReplyDelete
  13. Interesting rhyme scheme - almost a song in itself. I also find many of my memories are found again in music.

    ReplyDelete
  14. In cultures that rely on oral memory, association and visual cues are more uses. The classic is to imagine when the information is stored in the house. Thanks for dropping by. My poem is here. Hope your week goes well.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is magical, Gay, and yes, musical. I like the repetition of lines playing like passages of the music. And I particularly liked this:

    Arpeggios cascade the zodiac,
    Sonatas rare outrace the stars in flight,
    My dreams recur in sequences exact.

    That's so beautiful.

    Thank you for your visit to my One Shot.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Spellbound by fears, I dared to stay and fight.

    ahhh the fight for creativity.. i think ya won lass ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I wanted to learn the piano (pouting) This is lovely...enjoyed

    ReplyDelete
  18. i love the pic - and i love how you build your poem around the piano keys...songs I played on keys of white and black…great one shot!
    i play the piano by the way - and i can get VERY emotional about it...

    ReplyDelete
  19. For you guys who want to learn to play; it's never too late.

    Thanks Tracey...I learned from nuns...there were some frightening lessons at times. Shoes tied, hair tidy and fingers arched. Dreams sometimes turned to nightmares if I hadn't prepared.

    Claudia--it's hard to articulate, isn't it? The way the music seems to pour through you, out of your fingers onto the keyboard and into existence all over again. One feels as though one's soul links over time to the composer. It's transcendental. Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Loved the rhyme and rhythm here... you can hear the music as you read...
    Beautiful!

    :)

    Dulce

    ReplyDelete
  21. musically charming Bea,love the rhythmic flow here..piano fingers have always been an inspiration to me..lovely one shot..:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. "the leaves of all the other autumns crack"

    that part, especially.

    ReplyDelete
  23. that was damned clever..and after our chat earlier in the week can see why you are so musical...cheers pete

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh, I love the repetition in this.

    I always wanted to learn piano, and the first piece of "furniture" we bought after we were married was a spinet. I took a couple years of lessons as an adult, and my daughter took a couple of years. My hands never traveled the board well, though, but I learned the notes and still play at it and on my harp.

    Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow, this is good. I'm going to need to start getting into some poetry blogs!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Its beautiful and I enjoyed reading it...Memories and dreams... love it.
    Om Namah Shivaya

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you Alee for following me and thank you and Shashi for coming by, saying hi and reading my poem. I'm happy you like it. Come again. I'll post some new stuff just for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Stunning photo, it only got better from there. Music should be our first language. Love the melodic tone to this poem. It resonated on several levels, I have not played in a very long time, need to remedy that. I raised my sons on playing music, I always thought if you play music you are never alone in life.
    Beautiful poem by any standard,

    Joanny

    Thanks for the sweet comment on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Really beautiful. I'm so glad we connected on Twitter!
    Blessings,
    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete