the power of their music

At our pigpicking last Saturday night, we were lucky to book the local band, BIRDS & ARROWS. When the rain and lightning drove us inside, they played in our dining room, while I sat at their feet, enjoying and marveling.

Here's a description of them in words and in a photo:

BIRDS and ARROWS accomplish an elegant, warm sound that is truly their own. Their compelling and road tested live show appeals to a surprisingly wide range of audiences; they are the cherished rock band for folk lovers and the favorite folk group for rock fans.


closing with the source

I sit here in front of musicians
who mesmerize me with cello, drums, guitar, and voice
within songs they themselves have created,

the vocals pierce & harmonize,
each note, each phrase, each piece of melody & rhythm
speaks to each other, and thus to us,

while within it all the lyrics also work
to express the power the musicians felt in the creating
and now in the performing,

for now, for me, the words are but sound
that leads and counterpoints but not yet full forms
ready for my thought,
I’m living this moment more basic, more in feeling,
more in places that words can reach toward
but never really touch,

the power of their music shakes me,
as if to wake me up from the sleep-walking
that can so easily pass for consciousness,

at some point I will rise up to the words and their power
as they will synergize with the primal base where I am now,

for now I cannot even hold the power of sound as song,

when I hear the songs again and know the lyrics
I hope for an even richer experience, yet, just as in this poem,
while I’m in the world of words
I cannot close with the source itself.

by Henry H. Walker
June 12, ’11