All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Choose a Song
The way I hear this music,
I’m cross-legged in the receding tide
the sun is pressing its cheek to the sharp horizon
and the sky is clear and gleams, glows…
warm water,
smooth, salty, hypnotic
the wet sand sucks me in
holds me firmly to the earth;
gravity
forces of attraction
steady
(crescendo)
A wave swells, putting an upside down dimple in the sunset
as it races closer,
larger and looming
distance disappears in a roar (voices echo on the surface)
I see it coming
Closer, deep breath- hold your breath!
(fortissimo)
white water roils
foam and grit and liquid so solid
it is stone
sound without sound, underwater (hold your breath)
and the rest of them-
there are others in the water
there are people, churning, churned,
singing, sung.
Their voices swell,
their hair is around me-
pulled from my sand and lifted into their midst
Chaos of harmony
Tumult of rhythm
One pulse
The ocean, that tempo (crazy heart, racing)
(the people wear bright colors, red and gold and electric
BLUE.)
Pulling with their voices,
the fluid heartstrings of the tone
the sound (listen)
wrapping themselves around me as the waves rolls on
I see my feet above me as the wave rolls on (above…which way is up?)
I feel sunset air on my hand
as it stretches briefly above the surface
Withdraw, returning…I am a part of the wave
My tempo is the ocean
these people have my face
and my voice makes their heartstrings
thrum; liquid solid vibration
(decrescendo)
foam leaps and spits
then hisses and quiets…
quelled, quelled
my legs bump against the sand, gently
my head breaks the surface and I swallow the last vestiges of the sun in the air
as it dips below that horizon
dark now
the wave recedes like that first tide,
and the salt floats me back to gravity
the people wave goodnight and their robes vanish into the darkness
colors, colorless, all
My feet come to fold under me,
and I sit
cross-legged in the shallows
soaked to the core
dripping the melody
drenched with the song
(did it seem like music to you?)
Quiet…
Whale song, just a few notes
humming the last threads of a familiar melody
I can barely see her as she breaches, far off
The people must be singing with her, out there
Maybe she can still see the sunset, where she is
Maybe the wave rolls her through the tempo
Maybe she is listening to the song
Quiet…
Can I swim faster than the receding tide?
Can I catch the song, one more time…?
Thank God for the rewind button.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.