poetry concert!

"You mean, music concert?"

 

I mean poetry concert!

Several composers have set the poems of American poets to music and tonight I was blessed to hear them voiced. I Cantori, the choral group at Skidaway Island UMC presented the pieces, including one that a member had composed... and I knew him!

"Had you known he would be there?"

I had not. Joseph "Joey" Timmons had been one of the Armstrong Masquers at the same time as Jojo Ward. I kept looking at Joey as he sang, immediately picking out his voice from the others. It wasn't until the conductor announced him as the author of the score for the T. S. Elliott poem that I recognized his name and how I knew him.

"Oh, I remember him. Seems you had a little crush on him."

(smile!)

"And what poem had sparked his creative spirit?"

It was "When The Evening Is Spread Out Against The Sky". Just the title of it brings to mind my favorite time of day at Grayson Stadium, with the sky going to purple as the green trees leap up for their last touches toward the top.

"Now, that sounds like the e.e. cummings bit that you so love!"

 

Indeed, I am so fond of it that I even wrote another stanza for it. That particular poem was even one of those featured tonight! However, it wasn't my favorite piece. The melody attached to it wasn't the one that I composed for singing those words. That isn't to say it wasn't a pretty song as they did it... it just wasn't as pretty as mine.

 

"Understood. Were there some compositions that really worked for you?"

 

Well, I very much liked two that were quite familiar. Both were in the second part of the 90-minute program. One was a Shaker hymn, "How Can I Keep From Singing?" and I mouthed the words right along with them. The other was "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", a tune I recall the Carter Family singing on TV, back in the day. And of course I loved the Ogden Nash "Animal Crackers" trio about the panther, the cow, and the firefly - everyone laughed at those, including me! But my absolute favorite was "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Eve". I would really like to hear that one again. You could almost hear the horse's harness creaking.

 

"Oh, very nice! Robert Frost has so many good poems!"

 

Yes, he certainly does. Mama had a book of his poetry, so I've been reading his works for much of my life.

 

"Wasn't there a Langston Hughes' poem in the mix tonight?"

 

There was a trio, actually, but none I really knew. Sam Johnson probably would have recognized them, but neither Barbara nor I did.

 

"Oh, good, you had company there! Anyone else you know?"

 

Well, surprisingly, Ray Ellis and Randy Canady were there... in the choir!!! That was a bit of shock. I thought I saw them, but they seemed to look a bit different than they do at Asbury, so I thought it might be relatives, right, or limited gene pool at work. But, nope! It was them! At a United Methodist Church!

 

"Wait a minute. They're gay, right? Doesn't the UMC have a problem with homosexuals?"

Yep. That's why Asbury Memorial is no longer affiliated with the UMC. That's why I was surprised to see from the program that it really was Ray and Randy singing with this choir, too, at this church. It seems like a conflict of interest for that married couple.

"Heard."

Anywho, it was also a nice outing with mi amiga. 

Fairly low-key, as it was just us two, but we spent the pre-concert time walking the grounds. 

I even pointed out the Prayer Labyrinth that I'd walked last night!

"Last night? Why were you there then?"

I got the date wrong. 

Oops! 

I got the price wrong, too. 

The Book of Face said nothing about a cost, so I figured it was free. Nope! 

$20. 

I'll send them a check for $17, as I only had 3 bucks on me at the time and they didn't take plastic. 

Barbara paid and didn't even complain about it, so that was good.

"That really was good."

And get this: afterward, when she suggested we get something to eat, I told her I was craving pizza, and I wanted it from Cici's. 

"Had I ever been to Donato's?", she'd asked. 

Of course I had, several times, with her and Carolyn and even Sandy and Kal. 

We went to Cici's and I ordered the pizza I wanted, sans cheese, and she even ordered a special Hawaiian pie. 

It was less than she usually paid at Donato's, too.

So, that worked out well for both of us!

"Very good!!!"

Such a lovely Friday evening for us!

i thank You, God.