THE MAGIC OF OUR SONG

THE MAGIC OF OUR SONG
By Charles Robert Lindholm

I Was Drawn
Back Into Childhood Memories
As I Listened To The Wind
Whispering Through The Trees

The Thrum

The surf beat the shingle
loud as a drum
with rising crescendo
for rhythm and thrum
and the wind and the sea
gave their voice to the choir
for a symphony there
to absorb and admire

RINGS AROUND THE SUN

By Charles Robert Lindholm

It Was A Birthday Gathering
With Cake And Lots Of Candles
Blazing On Top Of It
Waiting To Be Blown Out

Waiting for Heaven

A pile of poems,
a scattering of short stories,
a minor mess of manuscripts,
all in a state of perpetual preparation.
I wait to see
what will happen today.

These things, bits of a lonely soul,
Hopeful of attention float into
Jackson Square,
New Orleans, on a random Saturday morning.
Jock and Michelle
play a mix of the classics
in the next patch of shade.

Lovely, dark Michelle on the violin,
Jock, recently of Columbus,
sits in on the keyboard.
Buffalo, the veteran, hair strapped
by a black cloth band, plucks
a soulful strain from Mozart
on a battered guitar.
Its case is open on the dirty concrete,
a few coins and bills
coaxed from a family from Iowa,
will buy one or two meals,
a share of a dump on
Decatur Street, when he’s
not enjoying the wonders
between a girlfriend’s thighs in
a ratty old apartment in the Tremé.

Music days II

Some days are for music
just sitting inside
and listening well for a while
as with much affection
here in my collection
I’ve plenty to bring me a smile

A Note

Hi All, it has been a really long time since I posted poems here. Recently I have been working on making music videos with Covid as the theme blended with my guitar compositions (to whatever extent I know to play). I am posting them in my wordpress page – https://quatrainpoems.wordpress.com/

It is not poetry in written form but then is there any thing that does not have poetry underneath? These music videos are a series as part of 30 days challenge I took on myself.

-Venkat

To see where I hide

I have a small corner
with a chair and a cushion
Comfortable, it is a place to hide
albeit in plain sight
It is here that I escape into music
to while away hours lost to rhythm
safe in the knowledge
that this is my place
My sacrosanct
My place to hide
And dream
And breathe

The Solution

I’ve spent the whole day in the garden
but I’ve not moved very far
as lockdown means the space I’ve got
is not spectacular
I can walk from the front room
to the garden out the back
thirty metres give or take
so not much of a track
The stairs afford an up and down
but some care there must be had
as they’re quite narrow so a trip
down them would be quite bad

Like the sea

We brought a solar water feature
for our birdbath as you do
‘Cos it kind of seem appropriate
and the best thing we could do

So now when it is sunny
we can sit and listen long
to the sound of falling water
as it plays its little song

Lifting II

I’m thinking of a song I heard
one that brought a grin
for that is what I need right now
with the state I’m in
I’m trying hard, don’t get me wrong
and I know I’m not alone
as there are many others out there
who like me must stay at home
But it’s hard remaining positive
so I need a helping hand
provided by a favourite song
sung by a favourite band

Kallax

Kallax from Ikea
gave my music a new home
quite the best arrangement
for my records I have known
as now around eye level
I can see their spines anew
and find what I am looking for
now they’re on full view

Underworld

Excitement builds, anticipation
for this spectacle I’ll see
with Mr Gwilliam, my friend
who will be there with me
We’ve waited now for ages
but the time is here at last
as off to Wembley we both go
for jollies and a blast
Underworld (‘Born Slippy’)
‘Tiny Holes’ and drumming loud
along with several thousand others
we will be there in the crowd

My Chair

There’s a place in my house where I sit
and, if I chose to lose myself I can
Be it with reading or writing
or music or game
Sometimes Obi joins me
as it is for him safe haven
when there is something loud downstairs
My little brown comfort blanket
snuggled up and sleeping
in my chair beside me

Life a friend

I went all the way to Liverpool
and sat in Derby Square
Victoria looked down on me
as I was sitting there
On my iPod rather fittingly
the Beatles played a song
about a girl called Eleanor
to which I hummed along
Appropriate to hear that
near to where the song was penned
fifty something years ago
familiar like a friend

Constant rhythm shared

Prevailing sou’ westerly blows
across this grey-green sea
but the sunshine warm, encourages
so I’m content to be
Staying here throughout the day
to watch the sea out there
as white-capped waves comes into shore
with constant rhythm shared

That 12-bar moment

Eyes they water
Feet they tap
Spine it tingles
That’s a fact
I’ll have a moment
Drift away
Every time the
12 bar plays

Joie de vivre IV

And then there’s music
brings me back
when really I’m still there

Brings a tingle
brings a shiver
A joie de vivre to share

60/40 II (The day)

The day has arrived
the one after Solstice
so the light will be with us til late
And here in midsummer
down on the beach
the atmosphere will be great

We’ve friends who are coming
from miles away
we have not seen for some time
So you can be sure
that we’ll celebrate
and that everything will be fine

Back with music in mind

No.6 of 6 in “the Music” series from Jemverse

Each month with new music
I’ll chop and I’ll change
and the playlists I use
I will oft re-arrange
So I’m grateful for i-pods
with music in mind
as with buds in my ears
I can always unwind

New Music again

No. 5 of 6 in “The Music’ series from Jemverse

The quietness of the woodland brook
is always worth a second look

For with its trickle so it sings
and with it a new music brings

Life music again

No.4 of 6 in “The Music” series from Jemverse

Quite often then
my eyes will dance
‘tho my feet
are slower there
For there is music
all around
in life most
everywhere

Music again

No. 3 of 6 in “The Music” series from Jemverse

It lifts and refreshes
It adds spring to steps
It soothes and it mellows
The louder it gets

It hits you sometimes but
Never hurts when it does
It brings smiles and enjoyment
And does this because

It is comfort and solace
It is all that and more
It is rejuvenation
It is music – encore!

Music Days again

2 of 6 in “The Music” series from Jemverse

On days when it’s raining
my music will play
From the time I awaken
’til the end of the day
It’s an escape I enjoy
and will often return
topping up with the downloads
and the CDs I burn
It’s a remedy to cure
‘most any malaise
So sometimes all of us
need our music days

The Music again

1 of 6 in ‘The Music’ series from Jemverse

Back lit through the dry-ice swirl
the player comes to fore
his nimble fingers on the frets
the crowd cries out for more

The singer steps up to the mic
narration in the song
the scene is set, the story told
the crowd sings loud along

In the garden with Chris

Sunday in the garden
with jazz and sun and beer
And family, conversation
pavlova and good cheer
Laughter on the Springtime air
from here this afternoon
We’ve been out since breakfast
and evening’s coming soon
But Chris Barber and his clarinet
still has a voice to hear
so we’ll all stay a little while
and have another beer

For Otis

As Otis and Steve Cropper
wrote so eloquently they
Of sea when they were sitting
on the dock of that fine bay
So whimsically I
here in Sussex by the sea
Hum that tune quite often
when I’m sitting peacefully

Comforter

Music as comforter
enters my soul
Enlightens my mind
keeping me whole

Keeping me whole

Listening to sounds
when it’s raining outside
I can often get carried away
Spine tingles freely
My element comes
and contentment comes for the day