Dr. Sue Song (or Poem) of the Month “Winter Rhythm” Positive Entertainment
Do you like a Creative Challenge? Do you enjoy songs, poetry, art, and nature? Do you like combining words with music or pictures? Do you like learning and/or teaching, and sharing?
Here is your Song/Poem Challenge of the Month!
Create a song or poem inspired by a month, season, and/or holiday – with an optional image. If you don’t compose music, write a lyric or poem.
Here is “Winter Rhythm” my song and poem inspired by December with an image of migrating geese.
Scroll down for printed lyric, explanation of the poem and my creative process – which may inspire yours! Music is available on request. Click on Image to Enlarge.
Winter Rhythm Winter Rhythm, something in the sky Makes the geese sense snow in the air...and fly Winter Rhythm, something in me grieves Golden autumn clings to the trees...then leaves Once upon a summertime we waltzed in sweet romance Now our steps don't rhyme and we don't dance Out of rhythm, but trying not to show In your mind you're gone like the spring And though December leaves try to cling Like the geese, I know...it's time to go "Winter Rhythm" Words and Music by Susan Horowitz copyright 2020 Please request permission to share.
Here’s my explanation of the poem/lyric and my creative process. I hope it inspires your own creativity and love of songs, art, and literature.
My Creative Challenge is a Song or Poem for December. My season is the turn from autumn to winter – from November into December.
I started with the Title – “Winter Rhythm.” I took the title from a music festival sponsored by Urban Stages Theater in New York City (urbanstages.org/winterrhythms)
I like the musicality of the word “rhythms” (which I shortened to “rhythm”) and the connection to the winter season.
I wanted an image from nature that reflects seasonal change – like the migration of birds. I thought about the mallard ducks in the pond of a local park. However, “Ducks” (with the sharp “cks” sound) seemed too sharp, so I changed it to “geese” (with a soft “s” sound) which slid nicely into “sense”.
Migrating geese sense the coming of winter and fly south. How does that connect to other aspects of nature and to human emotions? In the second verse, the glorious golden leaves of autumn turn brown, wither, and fall. I am sad to lose their beauty – which also suggests human loss.
The form and rhythm of the first two verses is the same – which also allows the music to repeat and satisfies our ear – we “catch” the melody. Both verses open with the refrain “Winter Rhythm.”
Now it’s time for a change – the “bridge” of the song, which usually has a different rhythm, melody, and feeling or thought. We shift focus from late autumn/early winter sadness to a memory of summertime happiness. The first two verses introduced the word “rhythm,” but now we focus on a different rhythm – a “waltz,” which has a 3/4 rhythm and is associated with romantic dancing.
The last verse returns to the current season, connects earlier parts of the song and reveals their meaning. “Rhythm” shows up in the refrain, but now the romantic relationship feels “out of rhythm” awkward and forced. “You” (the beloved) are already disconnected from the “spring” (youthful enthusiasm) of early love. As “December leaves” cling to a tree, the speaker wants to cling to the beloved, but realizes that their romance is now frail, fading and falling away. It’s time to move on. “Like the geese, I know…it’s time to go.”
My main poetic influences in writing this song lyric are sonnets of William Shakespeare, which often connect nature (including seasonal change) and human emotions, and the poetry of Edna Saint Vincent Millay – especially her poem “The Spring and the Fall.” The music (in a minor key) suggests sadness – and is available on request.
I hope you enjoy my song lyric/poem and explanatory notes. Enjoy more Blogs with Songs, Comedy, and Entertaining, Educational Virtual Tours. I am Susan “Dr. Sue” Horowitz, Ph.D., Writer-Performer-Professor-Guest Speaker. I programs, including intertactive workshops, in-person and online.
Please use the contact form on my web site to send me an Email, or find me on Facebook, Linked In and YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/drsuecomedian
(Note: Thanks to Suzen, Photographer (suzennyc.com) for this November photograph of me, taken on our walk in the High Line Park, NYC (thehighline.org) and to Michael Lynch – Website Consultant – and to You – My Dear Readers!)
Susan (“Dr. Sue”) Horowitz, Ph.D.
Entertaining Motivational Speaker-Author-Educator-Singer/Songwriter.
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