‘Wine into Wisdom’…. Sing Out!...... From ‘Emergence’ Magazine….
by Bernie Bell - 10:05 on 21 October 2023
Wine clings to the side
As I slowly twirl the glass
Watching colored stage lights
Bounce off Merlot
Through the haze I realize
I am the wine
Clinging to that
Which confines me
Living in the glass
Gradually sinking
In this pool of liquid
That used to support me
Once clarion clear my voice
Is now slurred spittle
But without the wine
I might not speak at all
Once literary and lucid
My words are confused and common
But without the wine
I might not write at all
Each sip is a curse
I must keep the glass half empty
Otherwise I will lose
All that I have gained
This year marks the tenth anniversary of my first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular. To celebrate I’m posting my favorite poems from the book on Wednesday nights, of course. This poem is the "after" of Wine into Wisdom.
Beware of going down the road of so many drunken poets/artists. I’m serious. Thinking of Eddie Cummins…
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16438
Life is full of wonder – living through inner stimuli and outer – not needing more.
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Sing Out!......
I read this article by Eamonn Keyes – multi-talented person extra-ordinaire…
https://theorkneynews.scot/2023/10/19/the-week-that-i-could-sing/
Eamonn can sing – definitely can - in many varied styles. I’ve heard him – I’d advise you to do so – if you get the chance.
Here’s my tale…
Some would question whether I can sing or not now – but they didn’t hear me before this happened…
Twenty-odd years ago, when we lived in Suffolk, my friend Caroleena did a sound workshop. Caroleena uses sound for Healing and trained with Chris James…. http://www.chrisjames.net/ .
I went along – a person who really could not sing at all, and knew it.
Caroleena took us through some toning - making sounds – some chanting – and what Caroleena referred to as a ‘sound bath’.
Suddenly – the noises I made weren’t quite so bad. Folk weren’t asking me to stop – or even wincing! Before that, even those who love me would ask me not to ‘sing’.
After that, I felt emboldened to ‘sing’ in public - being careful of what I chose to inflict on the audience – mostly songs that I can growl or bellow. I don’t attempt ballads - except for The Balled of St. Kevin - https://theorkneynews.scot/2019/01/19/poetry-corner-the-ballad-of-st-kevin/ . If Brendan Behan can do it – so can I!
At the Royal Music Nights some folk actually said they enjoyed what I did – some might not have agreed! But …point is….before that workshop with Caroleena – my ‘singing‘ voice was truly dreadful – after – bearable – with caution.
One thing that really pleased me was – one time at The Royal a woman sang the Welsh National Anthem, in Welsh – ab-so-lute-ly beautifully. She told me later that it was me having the courage to sing – though not a ‘singer’ - which emboldened her to try. She’d never sung in public before. Difference was– my lord – she could sing!
Not as mystically impressive as your experience Eamonn – but, still, it show there’s more in us than we know, Horatio.
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From ‘Emergence’ Magazine….
Honouring England’s Nightingales
at our Shifting Landscapes Exhibition
“You can’t protect what you don’t know and what you are not in love with.” —Sam Lee
“Every night for about seven weeks in late spring each year, the forests of England come alive with the rapturous song of nightingales. These small, secretive brown birds follow a three-thousand-mile annual migration, mating and breeding in southern Europe in the summer and spending winters along the west coast of Africa. But as their habitat in the woodlands of England has been pushed to a fraction of their historic footprint, and deforestation and wetland degradation threaten their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa, England’s nightingale population has diminished by over 90%. After coexisting with humans for millennia, the nightingale may disappear from the country within our lifetimes. What does it mean to celebrate these birds in a landscape that has become increasingly hostile to their flourishing? How can we thank them, wholeheartedly, for their generous song?
At our Shifting Landscapes exhibition in London this December, we’ll be featuring two works that honour the nightingale and its integral role in our ecosystems and our lives, connecting us with the ancient parts of ourselves that evolved in dialogue with this and other songbirds. In our new film, The Nightingale’s Song, a sneak peek of our four-part documentary film series coming out next year, we meet Sam Lee, a folk singer who draws on an ancient lineage of traditional folk music to join the nightingale in spontaneous mutual song. We’ll be screening the film several times daily on weekdays, with special screenings on weekends followed by Q&As with directors Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee and singer Sam Lee.
And in The Last Nightingales, an ambisonic audio experience set amid a living forest, you’re invited to immerse yourself in the auditory splendour of this elusive bird’s song. Recorded in East Sussex, England, in May 2022 under a full moon at the height of nightingale season, this experience will transport you into a landscape lit up by the voices of nightingales.”
GENERAL ADMISSION (WEEKDAY SCREENINGS INCLUDED)
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Mike’s father served in the British Army during the Second World War. A strong memory he had was of marching through Italy and hearing Nightingales singing – which took him straight back home to England.
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Here’s one I made earlier… https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/10/31/all-hallows-eve/
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