in this, and the next life (a poem)

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the church

Unholy.

Like unrequited first love,

my heart discovers your incantations and magic

last night.  It seems this story has been written

a thousand times.  A girl

watches, listens, dreams.

She is silent, unmoved at the start and almost determined

not to feel.  And then she is profoundly shaken, breathless.

Listening as if never having heard music

before. You cast a spell.   A choir of guitars,

exquisite.  Cutting

deep.  Your sweaty hope.  Dreams vividly etched in the lines

in your face.  You may see

ancient sorrows but she sees only

sweetness and she falls

for you, for your voodoo songs.  You are

the weary traveller casting spells on the unwary girl.

You are

ahead of me

on the path to this, and the next life.   You

have my heart

now, beating erratically in your songs.  Carry it well.

April 15, 2010, Melody Harrison Hanson

I went because they are one of Tom’s  all time favorite bands, which is saying a lot for him.  He listens to a lot of music.   Last night we heard The Church at the Majestic in Madison, Wisconsin.  Bravo.  It was up there in terms of best live concert experiences I have had. It isn’t often that one discovers a band, hearing them for the first time live.  It was kind of earth shattering.  A bit like falling in love: I wasn’t looking for it, didn’t expect it, but can’t help but embrace it.

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One thought on “in this, and the next life (a poem)”

  1. Imaging the first time I heard or saw “Over the Rhine”. At a sleazy strip mall bar on Madison’s East Side. I went with a friend, because I had nothing better to do. I was transformed. Saw them in Madison x 3?, Milwaukee x1, Boston & Providence x3, London & SF x 1. The SF time when I was hugely pregnant with Aidan, walking past someone shooting up and someone else urinating against a wall. That’s WAY more than this showtunes lovin’ girl ever goes to see a rock band.

    And they are always worth it, in all their incarnations.

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Thanks so much for reading and sharing.