.SONG COMMISSIONS BY SUSANNE MENTZER / Poems by Reg Huston (ASCAP)
working title: Standing still ; still standing - thoughts during a pandemic isolation
** BIPOC composers
Sitting, Just Sitting, June 13, 2020
composed by Jake Heggie jakeheggie.com
Sitting, just sitting, outside
. Listening to my breathing,
Listening to my heart and inner self, Taking time to really think about who I am, who you are.
Looking at the world; Trees
Ocean
Sky
Your face
Listening to the world; Birds
Music
Colors
Your sighs
Feeling the world;
Breezes
Ladybug crawling up my leg Sunshine
Your hand
Tasting the world; Lemonade
Ice cream Watermelon
Your kiss
Smelling the world; Flowers
Barbecue
Your scent
Your hair
Sitting, just sitting. What a day!
What a life!
The “US” Treasury August 17, 2020
composed by Libby Larsen libbylarsen.com
I have a treasury of thankful memories for the life that I lived. For instance:
I remember the times at our favorite café; drinking lattes and savoring croissants.
So good, so sweet.
Like you.
Thank you.
Yes, I’ll have another, please.
One day, an older couple sat to our right at a nearby table (remember?); they still laughed together;
still held hands.
A younger couple, sat on our left, hoping,
their eyes laughed,
they held hands.
Our story. Our life.
The Person in the Moon, December 31, 2020
composed by Michael Ching** operaandbeyond.com/
Why is the “man in the moon” called that?
It should be a woman you see;
It makes much more sense to be female,
Cuz women are born heavenly.
The Romans praised Luna the goddess,
not a longshoreman named Fred.
It’s beautiful up in the night sky,
It should be a lady instead.
The celestial sky is her boudoir,
the Milky Way hugs her round curves.
Let’s throw out the ego of “man”kind
and give her the love she deserves!
Heaven’s Gaze, December 30, 2020 composed by Michael Ching
What can heaven show me
that I can’t see in your eyes;
when I look upon their beauty
they reflect the starry skies.
What can nature offer,
what magnificence, indeed;
your humanity is deeper
than all of her vast seas.
Can the mountain ranges
overpower the strength you own;
they bow in humbled silence
by the goodness that you’ve sown.
They cast empty shadows
but your light shines through, I find;
and your laughter echoes clearly
and your kindness clears my mind.
When I look to heaven
and I seek to find what’s true,
I am thankful that you love me
and that “heaven’s gaze” is you.
In the Wee Hours, May 15, 2021
composed by Karim Al-Zand ** www.alzand.com/WordPress/
In the wee hours, when it is so quiet, the only sound
is the twinkling of distant stars,
I see you.
Light years away and, yet,
I see you.
I see you as I have always seen you: bright, dazzling, brilliant; unreachable but so comforting.
Glimpse Through the Fog, May 12, 2021 composed by Karim Al-Zand
On the bay, it chokes; canyon crawling, it intrigues, envelopes and tricks;
it conceals, then, reveals, then, conceals, again.
For an instant
(and only an instant), I see; I see a wink of sky,
a dash of clarity.
I see what I think might be
as I am inside the cloud now.
I do hear the sea, so I know it is there.
It’s my sea with the waves crashing around me.
One Wish , March13, 2021
composed by Dave Ragland ** daveragland.com/
one wish I have
above all others, only one:
to see you again in your finest dress;
to hold your face gently in my two hands and look so deeply into your eyes
that I see your soul, your heart,
our past;
to see you one more time
and place that strand of hair behind you ear, let my finger draw the contour of your cheek and hold you near
and kiss that perfect mouth,
those lips that I have never forgotten.
that is my only wish for it is everything.
The Great Fog, July 31, 2020
composed by Daron Hagen www.daronhagen.com/
The harbor lights are blanketed,
the moored bells muffled and silent;
no gulls, no sea lions, no lapping of waves; rather than stealthily creeping,
the fog oozes
and enwraps
and chokes.
Nothing dares to move for fear of disrupting the nervous and tenuous tide.
How close is the shore?
How far off am I from the breaking waves which, eerily,
cannot be distinguished.
Strange, there is no recognition of depth or movement of any wave
or of anything tangible.
I call out into the gray void
and my voice does not travel or echo.
It falls.
It sinks.
It drowns.
It’s a Tough Time, November 16, 2020 composed by Daron Hagen
I am at a tough time in my life.
My sons are too old for me to take care of them and I am too young to let them go.
In the Silt Nearby, 6/2/2020 composed by Daron Hagen
In the silt of my memories,
I sift through the dust and fragments.
You gradually reappear in bits and pieces, and thoughts and prayers,
and shards.
I try to reconstruct.
I try to move ahead and reassemble the jumbled and disparate parts. Gradually.
Slowly.
Without pause, I put you (and me) back together.
The waves wash over, cleansing,
clarifying.
I return to that place, to that time,
to that walk
alone with hope and you in my mind. Forever.
THREE SONGS WITH STRING QUARTET AND VOICE
My Senses, My Sense Is, August 3, 2020
composed by Stephen Bachicha** stephenbachicha.com/
I became deaf long ago
but I can still hear the cries of anguish
and the shrieks of horror of the oppressed
every day
every night.
When I had no more taste for the cruelty
beaten into the backs and skulls of the innocent,
I still winched at the bitterness
because, in the light of day,
I could feel the pain of the plight of the thousands
And, I cried,
for in the darkness,
I could see the writing on the wall.
Come With Me, August 10, 2020 composed by Stephen Bachicha
Close your eyes, dear,
you can see me
floating gently
in the breeze.
I will drift by
as you’re sleeping,
come with me, sweet,
love of mine.
Do not tarry,
do not worry,
I am here for
you, my dear.
We will fly up
to the heavens,
you will rest
and have no fear.
Trust your vision,
you’re not dreaming,
you’ve awakened
to your love,
We are joined now
here in heaven,
rest eternal in my love.
one tangible tear, January 26, 2021 composed by Stephen Bachicha
one drop of rain on a window pane;
a descending streak of opaque vision.
a tear on the cheek of an old person
is the same; no less, no more.
the elderly don’t cry out loud,
they don’t sob.
they internalize,
silently,
privately,
with one tangible tear,
only one tangible tear.
they stare off into the distance,
while looking at my past
through cataracts.
come visit me.
is it time for my meal?
is it time for my medicine?
is it my... time?
my hand in my lap
keeping time
to a song in my head.
i was wondering about the...
oh, i forget.
where was i?
where am i?
Listen. There. There!
The music is playing.
I remember that tune! I remember our song!
We danced along.
I remember the night I first spent with you.
I remember.
I remember THAT, I do.
the music stopped.
where was I?
staring off in the distance while looking back.
The Great Fog July 31, 2020
composed by Hilary Purrington www.hilarypurrington.com/
The harbor lights are blanketed,
the moored bells muffled and silent;
no gulls, no sea lions, no lapping of waves;
rather than stealthily creeping,
the fog oozes
and enwraps
and chokes.
Nothing dares to move for fear of disrupting
the nervous and tenuous tide.
How close is the shore?
How far off am I from the breaking waves which,
eerily,
cannot be distinguished.
Strange, there is no recognition of depth
or movement of any wave
or of anything tangible.
I call out into the gray void
and my voice does not travel or echo.
It falls.
It sinks.
It drowns.
In the Silt Nearby July 31, 2020 composed by Hilary Purrington
In the silt of my memories,
I sift through the dust and fragments.
You gradually reappear in bits and pieces,
and thoughts and prayers,
and shards.
I try to reconstruct.
I try to move ahead and reassemble the jumbled and disparate parts.
Gradually.
Slowly.
Without pause, I put you (and me) back together.
The waves wash over,
cleansing,
clarifying.
I return to that place,
to that time,
to that walk
alone
with hope and you in my mind.
Forever.
Pandemic Times Society Disorder March 27, 2021
composed by Andre Myers ** www.andremyers.com/
Inbred Incompetence
Intolerable Injustice
Unimaginable Unchallenged
Unchecked Unhinged
Abusive Corrosive
Derisive Indecisive
Battered Beaten
Bought Abandoned
Can’t handle it
Can’t condone it
Can’t flee it
Can’t forget it
It’s a Tough Time, November 16, 2020 composed by Andre Myers
I am at a tough time in my life.
My sons are too old for me to take care of them
and I am too young to let them go.
She Could - For Mary circa June, 1974
composed by Tamara McLeod freshincfestival.com/tamara-mcleod/
She could...
Look at the summer sun and teach it the meaning of goodness and warmth; Listen to the autumn breeze and teach it the meaning of togetherness and joy; Feel the winter snowflakes and teach them the meaning of softness and purity; Taste the spring showers and teach them the sweetness of life!
Wages, Rages October 15, 2020
composed by Jason Hainsworth** www.jasonhainsworthmusic.com/
for 2 violins, viola cello, acoustic bass
Wages, rages,
Lying, constant lying. Sickness, hatred, Excuses I’m not buying.
Black man, freeman?
Oh no, son, I don’t think so; The high court you’re packing, It’s trust now that we’re lacking.
You cuff me, rebuff me
You count on vote suppression, You hold me,
yet embold me
I won’t accept aggression.
Be clear now, hear me now,
Get off my neck, my soul aches; Let kindness light darkness
It’s love we preach
for God’s sake.
.
Under God’s Heaven June 6, 2021
composed by Richard Pearson Thomaswww.richardpearsonthomas.com/
with string quartet and voice
As I sleep under the stars,
under God’s grand and enveloping heaven,
I am alone and I need no one
for I am at home in my heart and in my mind and with my soul. I am at peace and I am free.
Those stars are my friends; there is no beginning or end to their glory or to the joy I feel for we are one;
we are one!
Comb 6/2/2020
composed by Kurt Erickson www.kurterickson.com/
He was combing her hair
while they sat amazed by the fire, caressing
and thinking about the years gone by.
The long gray strands that she allowed herself to succumb to; the eventual color change
as the years quickly passed.
It is what life brings us to:
that which we cannot hold on to but can hold in our hearts.
It is all we have:
each other
if we are lucky enough to find a supportive soul.
Stop the, Clock July 14, 2021 composed by Tammy Hall
https://www.tammyhall.com/bio
Stop the clock, the march of time and
keep the world from spinning;
I’m so afraid my days are short,
that life’s tru e curse is winning.
Give back to me the youth and strength
the innocence I wasted,
allow me, please, a chance to pick
the fruit I never tasted.
I’m winding down, my muscles weak
and time is not forgiving,
as memory fades I need to know
I led a life worth living.
Late in life I’ve realized
how precious time can be,
I pray God give me breath to thank
all those so dear to me.
Fill the Crescent Moon September 27, 2021 composed by Tammy Hall
N A silver sliver,
suspended, seemingly,
by a celestial thread
hangs against a motionless, black drape.
Waiting high above our wondrous, incredulous stare, it will gradually fill with wishes from lovers
and from children at their bedtime.
“Star kisses” will drop into its hollowed bowl until it fills. Then, suddenly, it will burst and overflow,
cascading down upon all who deeply yearn
that their dreams will come true.
Reciting a nocturnal blessing,
pouring across the heavens,
the night sky shimmers, magically, as if thousands of comets rain down to fulfill those wants
and reflect, glistening, in the tears of children;
And, with hands together, on their knees next to their beds, their prayers are answered,
as, too, are the expectant gazes of those, old,
still needing something to believe in.
It’s All I Want April 11, 2021 composed by Tammy Hall
I would rather see your face than look at the stars on a moonless night;
I would rather kiss your lips than drink champagne on New Year’s Eve;
I would rather hear you sigh in my ear than listen to the crashing waves;
I would rather hold you close to my heart than breathe; what more can I say?
When I wake to the morning sun, I want you to be by my side;
When I close my eyes in the evening, I want you lying next to me; Every moment as I go through life, I want to share them all with you, For it is you who makes it all worthwhile.
It is you and only you.
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