Music by Anne Porter is a poem I think you’ll really enjoy. It packs an emotional punch and is written by an excellent poet.
Music
When I was a child
I once sat sobbing on the floor
Beside my mother’s piano
As she played and sang
For there was in her singing
A shy yet solemn glory
My smallness could not hold
And when I was asked
Why I was crying
I had no words for it
I only shook my head
And went on crying
Why is it that music
At its most beautiful
Opens a wound in us
An ache a desolation
Deep as a homesickness
For some far-off
And half-forgotten country
I’ve never understood
Why this is so
But there’s an ancient legend
From the other side of the world
That gives away the secret
Of this mysterious sorrow
For centuries on centuries
We have been wandering
But we were made for Paradise
As deer for the forest
And when music comes to us
With its heavenly beauty
It brings us desolation
For when we hear it
We half remember
That lost native country
We dimly remember the fields
Their fragrant windswept clover
The birdsongs in the orchards
The wild white violets in the moss
By the transparent streams
And shining at the heart of it
Is the longed-for beauty
Of the One who waits for us
Who will always wait for us
In those radiant meadows
Yet also came to live with us
And wanders where we wander.
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Hi Janet. Thanks for your comment. I love music that tells a story, too. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem.
I love all kinds of music. I love music that tells a story. Slow meaningful songs. I love Sarah MacClaughlin, her music touchs my heart and my soul. I also love, Il Divo, Celtic Thunder and Josh Grobin. I play these cd’s when I just want to escape and reminisce.
They all sing songs that remind me of my past and my present, good times and bad times. It is wonderful that music and poems can do that. That poem I just read reminded me in some ways of myself. It was very nice.
I love many kinds of music but it is the music itself that most often moves me. Lyrics are nice, kind of aids at participation when one does not play an instrument, but the music is the thing. The closest I ever saw, in prose, was Cordwainer Smith’s “Under Old Earth” and the congohelium.
Thanks, Pierce. I will definitely check out “Under Old Earth.” I like to think that prose can be like music. At one time in my life I played flute professionally, and as a writer I am always working to capture the tone and rhythm of a story.
Hi Diana,
Great to hear from you. Thanks for remembering my music-making so fondly. I hope to get back into it soon. Yes, I have seen August Rush. I really liked it. 🙂
Hi Susan,
Lovely poem…reminds me of you and your wonderful soulful flute playing in the mezannine of Circular Church…it was such a gift to all of us who were there…also, if you haven’t seen August Rush, I would recommend it…it, too, resonates with this poem for me.
Dear Ms. Gabriel: This beautiful poem describe my feelings when I listen to Albinoni’s”Adagio”- The Schubert’ Serenata and Niccolo Paganini’s “Sonata No.6 for Piano and Violin. Is that longing for eternity… beautiful yet deeply nostalgic and sad. Thank you very much Ms. Gabriel. – Stella Marttin
I’m so glad you enjoyed Anne Porter’s poem, Stella. It is indeed a beautiful poem. One of the most beautiful and poignant I have read. Thanks for commenting!
All the best,
Susan Gabriel
I heard this poem for the first time this morning on “Writers Almanac” on public radio. I was stunned to hear-for the first time — a reflection of what I felt as a very young girl -of 3 and 4 years old. At that time I experienced a relentless longing to go back to where I came from . . .a “feeling memory”. I tried to explain what I felt to my mother, but she did not know what I was trying to tell her. I did not want to stay on this earth. My feeling was of love from where I came from. Yes, certain music is haunting to me -and brings tears. It causes me to reminisce of another realm –“sounds of the sacred”.
As time has unfolded, I have adjusted to feeling happy on this beautiful world. I am grateful to say that I am happier now than I have ever been in my whole life. I’m 72.
Hi Judy. I love this poem, too, and I love your comment. I’m so glad you heard “Music” by Anne Porter on Writers Almanac and then tracked it down here. Thanks so much for sharing your experience of that other realm, where you came. Sounds of the sacred, indeed. 🙂
The poem itself is music.
Sublimely sacral and painfully poignant.
Other-wordly, ethereal, exquisite!
Thank you so much for leading me to it.
Hi Lisa,
I am so glad you enjoyed the poem, Music, by Anne Porter. I feel the same way you do. It is an exquisite poem.
With every good wish,
Susan
Hi, Susan . . .
Thank you for Anne’s beautiful poem.
My career has been as a priest of the Episcopal Church, during which I’ve lamented the inability of much Western liturgical music to
convey what Anne describes; her moving, simple eloquence is a refreshment and encouragement.
Hi Roy. Thanks so much for your comment. I feel much the same. I imagine our lives would be totally different if we took Anne Porter’s poem to heart and truly lived its music.
Peace to you and yours.
Susan Gabriel
Susan, Thank you so much for posting that poem by Anne Porter. I find music, books, and poetry a soothing balm of healing. As an old retired hermit of 68, they fill my days with peace and understanding. And also provide a connection to the One who created us all. I believe that Happiness is where you find it, if you are astute enough to look in the right places. I think I may purchase some of your books. Thanks, again…
Hi Edward. Thanks so much for your comment. I find poetry a soothing balm, too, and try to celebrate beauty wherever I find it. To me, Music by Anne Porter, is a beautiful and profound offering to the world. While I am not a committed hermit, I do understand some of where you are coming from. Thanks again for visiting my site. Safe journey…