Waltz #4
One
Find a rock
smoothed or a jagged ear.
Take a seat
brush it with your spare fingers.
Follow the moss
to the lips and back.
Note
where your fingers fall first,
second, third.
Two
Out here, again. Trying to make
a mixtape out of bark and brittle
twig. Me and Gordon Hempton. Earth’s
sweet, sweet, sweet tea.
Three
The pulse!
Of course it’s in ¾. Now
you see the hare, just there
below the hedge.
Begin her renegade
solo
out of
time.
First stanza Inspired by Notes on the Sacred Art of Log Sitting by Jim Harrison.
Feeling the shape of a rock with your eyes closed can be a marvel… recommended.
“Sweet, sweet, sweet, tea” is a reference to Susie Asado by Gertrude Stein, a poem that uses phonetics to try and emulate the sounds of a flamenco dancer’s dress. Since it’s sonic in nature… we’ll call it a sample.
Gordon Hempton is a field recording specialist drawn to capturing the world’s quiet places through recordings. See One Square Inch of Silence, like the above photo, it takes place in Hoh Rainforest!
Thank you for reading.
Know somebody who would enjoy these poems/songs on a weekly basis? It would mean a lot if you shared Into Wind with them!