April 9, 2008
Daffy
…listen
…about the musicUpward, again.
Spring continues to be a verb by my driveway, and daffodils shine at me each time I leave or return. I think I’ve been doing a bit too much of the former recently; still catching my breath from the Virginia trip (see below; much breath to catch), I’m off in the morning for my old stomping grounds: Los Angeles. Info about some of what I’ll be up to there lurks on my website (just click on my Malibu Barbie self to the upper right), along with links to a few new articles and interviews.
My calendar indicates still two more business trips before summer: New York again in May, and Denver in June. After that, the benefits of living in paradise will become clear, as I finally get to stay put while various friends migrate north for short visits. I’m looking forward to meeting the planes, rather than boarding them!
Glenn Buttkus said,
April 9, 2008 @ 6:51 am
After a week of silence your verbage bursts forth like scotchbroom blossoms suddenly covering the hillsides of a morning; bare limbs the day before, and acres of beauty this morning. Off you go, traveling lady, by car, by foot, by ferry, by plane, by golly–off the the City of Angels. We here in the far reaches of the Northwest corner of this vast country are well pleased that at least in one case, that city is missing one of its angels; you. You have taken up residence on an island, and your siren’s songs waft to every corner of the globe, enchanting and cajoling us; we–your kelphistos and new friends.
Nice that so many of your old friends will travel long and hard to rest at your hearth, and bask in your light.
Your musical clip and your photo go hand in hand like two children off to the meadow, the spring wildflowers tickling them as they saunter hip deep in the loveliness. EVENSONG NUNC @ 1.45 gets us all stirred up, like those wonderful scenes of time lapse photography of flowers opening up to the sun, that we were treated to in those 50’s Disney true action adventures. Part and parcel of NUNC DIMITTIS, one of the six gorgeous movements you composed for the evening prayer service at St. Bedes Church in Mar Vista, CA. Wave at it as you wing south. Flute, bassoon, clarinet, and piano, with the clarinet shyly only sharing a few notes in the piece, letting piano and flute stand downstage center. You described the piece so aptly, ” Nunc Dimittis is a pensive lullaby which blossoms into contentment and inner light.” When first performed it must have been stunning, with each movement played prior to a corresponding prayer or reading. And yet it can be performed of a piece complete in concert, and/or each movement stands by itself ready to make its own statement. Well, I can tell you, the marriage of your photo and your music has got me deep into Spring.
This comment will wait pensively for your return and perusal. For your entertainment and joyful scanning, I have pried out the poetry in your prose, once again, yet again, and again, and the poem has found its way to FFTR.
Upward, Again
Spring continues
to be a verb
by my driveway
and daffodils shine
at me
each time I leave
or return.
I think
I’ve been doing
a bit too much
of the former
recently.
My calendar indicates
still more
business trips
before summer;
LA, NYC, and Denver.
After that,
the benefits of living
in paradise
will become clear,
as I finally get
to stay put,
while various friends
migrate north
for short visits.
I am looking forward
to meeting the planes,
rather than
boarding them.
Alex Shapiro April 2008
Don’t let the smog get in your eyes, enjoy the rays, feast upon the fellowship, and may your business be conducted successfully.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus said,
April 14, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
I have found Janet Leigh’s wonderful poetry blog site, and we have been having a poetry-off. She has a lot of commentors, and she is a dyed-in-the -wool Alex Shapiro fan and friend. She has really enjoyed the poetry that has emerged from out of your prose, and my poetry inspired by it. I have found myself contributing a lot to her comment section, in part because of the gap of your absence. And her work is stimulating and spiritual, so I just get into it and take off.
The news shows have talked about a tremendous heat wave in LA, temps in the 90’s. Hope you are not burning up. You are not used to that CA heat these days, you know.
Glenn