I found this poem in my archives that I wrote on June 26th, 2016 and I would like to share it with you.
I have a pretty long list Of all the things I love I can do any of them with you Or, if you prefer, none of the above.
Family, friends, writing music, singing songs Winter walks, coming home, sky full of stars. Solving problems, helping strangers, reading a book Practicing yoga, sometimes riding my bike too long.
Learning something new, teaching what I’ve learned Laughing at jokes, sharing good food, colorful sunsets Writing on my blog, sharing a story, liking a post Being silly, going for a swim, getting praise that I earned.
With you I can do anything And add it to the list of things I love With you I can do anything Or, if you prefer, none of the above.
Cuddle and watch a movie, listening to you breathe at night Playing games no matter who wins, a weekend unplugged Hearing from co-workers, dancing like a fool, laying in the snow There are so many other things I’ve added to my list tonight.
With you I can do anything And add it to the list of things I love With you I can do anything Or, if you prefer, none of the above.
I’m with you sometimes when you stay up late at night Watching a show or reading a book and you start to cry. I try not to interfere, so rarely ask if you’re alright It ruins the tears if you have to stop and tell me why.
Your eyes just light up as you get the widest grin Whenever animals or an old couple stop to chat. You never judged an animal by the color of their skin And I’ve never had the chance to thank you for that.
What Is It that makes you smile? What does it take to make you cry? How do you keep focused on those in need? Whatever it is it becomes obvious Because I love what I see.
Sitting on a hillside as the sunset puts on a show Looking forward to early morn’ to see the blooms. There are many things about you I still don’t know. Grab it before it becomes lost in ashes and fumes.
You look at things in ways I will never understand No interest in paybacks or evening the score. Never guaranteed things would go just like we planned. Saying life is a thrill a minute so keep looking for more.
No interest in paybacks or evening the score. Saying life is a thrill a minute so keep looking for more.
What Is It that makes you smile? What does it take to make you cry? How do you keep focused on those in need? Whatever it is it becomes obvious Because I love what I see.
The Next Step is yours, my friend But I’d think about each and every one. You never cared what bridges you burned By the grin on your face you were just having fun.
The Next Step is yours, young man But all you can think of is where you should run. Acting like some man of war Only to find out you need a bigger gun.
The Next Step is yours, for now Though your choices are worse than none. You kept crying ‘how did I get here’ And failed to notice when the journey had begun
The Next Steps are yours, again In the race you invented you have nowhere to run. You stop and turn around half way through Cursing the world because you have never won.
The Next Steps are yours, don’t look back Don’t worry, a few more steps and you’re almost done. The Next Steps are yours, always were Can’t wait to see how the stories are spun.
Sonar Track Panel Wave and MIDI files that generate sounds from computer programs called plug-ins
I mentioned experimenting with an on-line jamming program. It became the clipboard for a few guitar sections I created while waiting for one thing or another to work. I titled each as verse, bridge, chorus, etc. I had to give it a project name to save the clipboard and I came up with “Not Now”.
I used those short pieces and assembled them into a song arrangement. Once the chords and arrangement were in place I naturally started thinking of lyrics (as I have a tendency to do). The file was named Not Now so I kept it as my Cakewalk (BandLab) project name. So it becomes the theme of the lyrics. In one hour they were written. Getting them to match the odd rhythms and sparse instrumentation became a challenge. It took me a few days to come up with the melody and then practice it enough to get the rough tracks down. To all just joining; I get things down to rough tracks and then write another song, poetry, lyric or instrumental. When I was young I hoped some band would do my songs correctly in a studio. I am not young now.
Here is a rough mix of “Not Now”. I used a Martin Acoustic/Electric guitar for the guitar track. Using my MIDI keyboard I pulled up a plug-in for drum sounds. I imported the original noodling guitar parts I did from the clipboard but they were not recorded to a metronome or drum pattern. I listened and figured out the tempo of the segments and set Cakewalk to match. That way I could listen to the short guitar segments as I created the basic drum parts and arranged all the segments in order. I pulled up a bass guitar sound and played the MIDI keyboard to generate the bass line.
Next, I Muted the original guitar tracks and recorded a new track to replace it. The song seemed to cry out for strings but that is usually just me. I like good sounding strings in various styles of music.
I use two monitors as there is a lot of information to keep ‘track’ of even for a small project.This is the Piano Roll view. Each color represents different instruments. The lower group triggers drum sounds.
I gave a link to BandLab above. Full disclaimer this is not a commercial and I do not get paid for anything I do here. However….. if you are interested I used to pay hundreds of dollars every year or so to keep this great recording program updated. They now offer the program and all updates for FREE. No kidding.
I hope you enjoy “Not Now”. Each time I listen to it I like it more. Again, this is just me as each new song I write becomes my newest favorite.
I have been working with a few friends to set up on-line jamming from separate locations. I will go into this a bit later for anyone interested. I did spend some time on-line with a program for live sessions. During my testing I had a bit of a wait time so I noodled around on my guitar. While waiting I used a record feature in the program and captured a few segments of my noodling that I liked. It required a name in order to save and in the mood I was in I called it Not Now.
As you know I am not good with names – of any kind – and my song titles usually show that weakness. So now that I had a name for the music pieces, I had to write lyrics sooner or later and was stuck with Not Now as the title!
I finished the basic music tracks in a couple days. Listening to the arrangement I got out my writing tools and came up with the following lyrics. I will smooth out the music and post sooner or later. Here is “Not Now”:
I really can’t wait
For you and this weekend.
Seems like forever
Since we had a minute alone.
No more than a boy
Paralyzed in an ice cream store.
Or that time I cried…..
Until we had to leave the zoo.
Not Now.
I’ve heard it all my life.
Not Now.
Don’t want to hear it again.
Not Now.
It can’t be now, it won’t be then
Not Now.
So many situations
I can’t come close to understand.
More and more people
Have nothing else to say to me.
Not Now.
I’ve heard it all my life.
Not Now.
Don’t want to hear it again.
Not Now.
It can’t be now, it won’t be then
Not Now.
Still
I don’t complain.
Everything I have
I can give away.
Hello
Tell me your name.
You make me smile
Hope I can do the same.
Ask
I do it all day.
It really doesn’t matter
Or what time of day. Still
I don’t complain.
Everything I have
I can give away.
It grinds in your teeth when you walk Then fades away so slowly it pulls you in Lost in thoughts spiraling away at blinding speeds You sit there with no plan, holding back a scream.
Don’t you just hate it?
When you get what you ask for?
Don’t you just hate it?
When you finally get what you want?
You keep asking for what you really want If you really want what you keep asking for Everyone knows, everyone but you You never ponder how though obviously confused.
All that planning and slimy effort wasted Did you think the end justified things from the start? I’m not sure where this is going and I don’t want to know. If this is what you planned, was it all for show?
Don’t you just hate it?
When you get what you ask for?
Don’t you just hate it?
When you finally get what you want?
Sometimes when a dream comes true It turns out to be worse than a nightmare. If it looks too good to be true; For god’s sake take another look.
Don’t you just hate it?
When you finally get what you want?
Don’t you just hate it?
When you finally get what you want?
Eye candy is all well and fine Warm fire and a bottle of wine Waiting, holding my breath at the thrill Everything’s going super fine: until.
She’s gorgeous, I’m in a state of bliss Gracefully she leans in for a kiss I surrender, wave a white flag My heart and soul vacuumed into a bag.
Beautiful Women are over rated. I get sick of everyone I’ve dated. You can’t live with ‘em. But I can live without them.
She never wants to go for a walk We get nowhere when we try to talk Spends her time looking in the mirror So angry when I try to get near her.
Music plays in my head as we dance around the room. The things I can remember when I smell her perfume. The slightest touch, the inviting glance Music plays inside my head as we dance.
Beautiful Women are over rated. I get sick of everyone I’ve dated. You can’t live with ‘em. But I can live without them.
Eye candy is all well and fine Warm fire and a bottle of wine She’s gorgeous, I’m in a state of bliss Gracefully she leans in for a kiss
It’s a hand grenade of high frequencies Placed right between your eyes. Easy to guess now where it came from; Years of rock and roll caught you by surprise.
So much harder just to sit and talk these days In a thin blue funk of purple haze. Forcing the rhyme within tired rhythms Simple technologies each a new craze.
You’re in it. You’re on it. But can’t admit that you want it. You buy it. You waste it. Much more than a phase. It’s the New Craze.
It used to take talent and a lot of hours People loved you for who you are. Now it’s the beautiful, the extreme Making a grab for your last dollar.
You need a law degree, and some Marketing Even web design or sound engineer. Craft miraculous songs but it won’t matter Without looks and cash there is no career.
You’re in it. You’re on it. But can’t admit that you want it. You buy it. You waste it. It’s just the New Craze.
When my wife and I purchased our first, and only home about thirty years ago, the adjacent property included irregular strips, pieces, an access road and a very old overgrown field. Over the years we cleared some of the vacant land next to our house. We built fire pits further and further out in the ‘wilderness’. It was mostly brush , grapevine and honeysuckle.
We didn’t use any equipment other than hand tools more sophisticated than pick ax and shovel. Each year we cleared more land to the side of our house of the brush and undergrowth. We had been doing this for a couple of years and noticed a huge tree we had not even seen before. It had towered over everything but through past decades the brush and small trees had provided a path for the insidious grapevine. As it does to anything above ground, the grapevine climbs anything it can and then covers it with a blanket of leaves. Each year the plants and trees try to grow new sprouts and shoots but are caught in a strangle-hold by the vines. Eventually the trees can’t bend down enough and break into pieces and soon die looking like a rounded skeleton. The smaller trees were already dead or damaged beyond hope. We managed to save more than we thought possible and we were determined to save the huge cotton-wood tree that was already entangled in vines spreading through the lower branches.
The neighbors thought we were nuts. Then a company came and bought the land we had cleared of debris and undergrowth and the rest of the surrounding wooded area. Years and years went by and they did nothing with the land. We spoke with the owners and told them that if they ever sell the land we would like to be the first offer. We also mentioned our clearing and using of the property and they were fine with that. We continued.
Over the course of our time here we have purchased all the pieces of what used to be abandoned property. Not much total, but a jig-saw of ‘odds and ends’ surrounding the neighborhood we made it our home! My posts often refer to feeding wildlife animals and birds in our tiny sanctuary. A number of neighbors share in the maintenance and care of this land now.
We have owned all the property pieces for a few years and have been trying to get it surveyed. It took them two years after signing the contract but finally the surveyors came out and tagged all the properties including our original house and land. When I came home from work there were orange flags everywhere along our side of the street and throughout the woods. We even discovered one neighbor’s fence was actually in our yard.
I was so thrilled and for the first time I walked every inch of land knowing what was our property. With that lengthy introduction I want to share a poem I wrote after that walk. Thanks again for your visits, and I hope this will be a great New Year for all!
“The Border” (C) MSK 1-22-2020
Orange flags everywhere but only where We are They disappear through the ages and few Return
Moving, shifting, season upon season upon Buried No concerns no doubting they never change Waiting
I’ve just walked every inch of our border Cut or cured, with muscle and bone We laughed loud and worked harder But we didn’t have to do it alone
Standing for generations before we embraced it Mighty Ruins become playgrounds, wilderness a haven Our home
I’ve just walked every inch of our border Cut or cured, with muscle and bone We laughed loud and worked harder But we didn’t have to do it alone
What’s yours is yours thanks for giving back what Is mine Fires burned, pumpkins were carved by many Good night
Moving, shifting, season upon season upon Buried No concerns no doubting they never change Waiting
MidiMike 