THE SOUND OF FALL IN COLOR
We are getting some color here at The Castle. A few maples around town are turning near the top. It should be still good when Patsy gets here. Most of our colors will be subtle and rich. The red oaks give a purple and copper color that reminds me of deep, meaningful love. The maples, reds and yellows are passionate but quickly go by. The soft gold of the birches and alder are like words and kisses that give knowing smiles in the middle of the day. The pines drop needles and nearly cover the ground with their ‘straw’. Other than that the place is boring as hell; just as I like it.
Driving to Union yesterday I feel the scenery opening and music fills the air. The fall colors laughing their way through my eyes like tunes and chords from symphonic staging. Concertos and sonatas in between. Full orchestras slide by left and right, strings and horns sending strains into my car and I hum along! The oaks provide the bass tones from cellos and violas while the maples and birches sound out the trombones and horns. Pines are tympani holding the crowds of trees in step. A few roadside flowers are like flutes and piccolos; the milk weed turned bright yellow and the deep purple asters give a sweet tune that runs through and between the taller instruments.
I love gliding along a two lane blacktop with a good surface and smooth tires. I feel I am flying through clouds of colorful remnants, some of the leaves have fallen to the road and fill the scene with another dimension of fun. It is the beginning of the week and I have the road to myself. Listening to the music with no radio or CD in the player is trippy. Orchestrations heard replay for me in this imaginative world. I can see the faces of composers and musicians, all of them enjoying this activity. All of them enjoying being in Maine in late September on a day with no sun but terrific light. The colors are rich and true with an overcast sky. No bright sun to challenge my eyes and blur the hue. This is the way to fly. This is wonderful.
I am editing this to include a poem I wrote two years ago and which I modified tonight in response to the music I was listening to. I pulled up an old favorite which inspired this poem and added more writing and feelings. Here it is.
LARGO MA NON TANTO
Inspired by J.S. Bach
Concerto for Two Violins
BWV 1043
2nd movement
Reverie –
Violins singing to me,
Beckoning, leading,
Inviting me,
Yearning to be mine,
I see you.
The promise of love in this moment,
Fingers in hair, scalp responding with shear
Delight!
Brow smoothing and eye lids weighing,
Hearts soaring – bodies responding,
Leaning in and
Arms encircling.
The love of lovers,
Lips meeting, brushing,
Tracing the landscape of
Breast and thigh,
Inhaling thick and sweet vapor,
Tasting, filling a void
With salt and scent.
I feel the ocean and the desert,
Rolling with wave and dune,
Our bodies warm and wet,
Clinging and pressing together,
No time, no space as we fill and sate,
Move to the sweet violin’s strains,
The bow plays the strings and we stir, thrill, and vibrate.
G. M. Goodwin
November 2012 to
October 1, 2014
Playing Fair and Being Kind 