I love how a poem can capture the tension of feeling, thought and perspective and wrap it all up in a package so compact. The words of this poem, "Nothing is Lost"by Noel Coward really struck a chord with me.
Sometimes as I try to fall asleep, I have a wave of memories, words and music jogging around in my mind. Sometimes it feels as if all the things I've ever heard, seen or dreamed are vying for the spotlight of my drowsy attention. Often lately, the best time (as far as inspiration) but the worst time ( because I want to sleep) for writing, poems, music and the like occurs as I'm trying to fall asleep. I wonder if other musicians and writers ever have trouble turning off that part of their brain? If so let me know. I've found that for the most part, its better to get up, write the verse, song or whatever is bouncing around and then sleep is less disturbed. If I try to ignore the words or music - they overtake my dreams and I find myself singing them all night long until the morning comes and I forget them altogether. I think I need new batteries for my digital recorder - and then I need to keep it by my bed. Just in case the muse of inspiration comes my way as I try to nod off to dream land...
Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes
Of all the music we have ever heard
And all the phrases those we loved have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled,
Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes
Each sentimental souvenir and token
Everything seen, experienced, each word
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears
Forgotten debris of forgotten years
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar scent
An echo from the past when, innocent
We looked upon the present with delight
And doubted not the future would be kinder
And never knew the loneliness of night.
"Nothing Is Lost" by Noel Coward, from Noel Coward Collected Verse. © Methuen Publishing, Ltd., 2000. Reprinted with permission.
Sometimes as I try to fall asleep, I have a wave of memories, words and music jogging around in my mind. Sometimes it feels as if all the things I've ever heard, seen or dreamed are vying for the spotlight of my drowsy attention. Often lately, the best time (as far as inspiration) but the worst time ( because I want to sleep) for writing, poems, music and the like occurs as I'm trying to fall asleep. I wonder if other musicians and writers ever have trouble turning off that part of their brain? If so let me know. I've found that for the most part, its better to get up, write the verse, song or whatever is bouncing around and then sleep is less disturbed. If I try to ignore the words or music - they overtake my dreams and I find myself singing them all night long until the morning comes and I forget them altogether. I think I need new batteries for my digital recorder - and then I need to keep it by my bed. Just in case the muse of inspiration comes my way as I try to nod off to dream land...
Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes
Of all the music we have ever heard
And all the phrases those we loved have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled,
Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes
Each sentimental souvenir and token
Everything seen, experienced, each word
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears
Forgotten debris of forgotten years
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar scent
An echo from the past when, innocent
We looked upon the present with delight
And doubted not the future would be kinder
And never knew the loneliness of night.
"Nothing Is Lost" by Noel Coward, from Noel Coward Collected Verse. © Methuen Publishing, Ltd., 2000. Reprinted with permission.
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