Today is the anniversary of the first time I contacted my wife by email (I sent it on the first of April, she received it on the second. We celebrate this by me componsing and sending her a poem last thing at night on the first, with the promise that she won’t read it until the next morning. Here is this year’s poem:
What Words Can Do
I used to think that artful words were just a waste of breath, Get straight to the point or you’ll just bore me half to death; But then the day came when I tried to learn the gentle dance Of subtle hints and nuances that constitute romance.
I discovered words alone allowed me to connect To a thoughtful, kind, warm, and engaging intellect. Your sense of humor broke my walls, our shared pain drew me in, Suddenly I saw the point of my old suffering:
It opened up a friendship deeper than I dared to hope, As I tried to walk my way along the grand tightrope Of pushing to grow closer without scaring you away, Somehow I didn’t squander what we celebrate this day.
Earlier this week, in between dropping off some of my children at a club meeting, buying some groceries and going back to pick them up, I sat in a local shopping mall with nothing to do and nowhere to be. A great peace washed over me as I sat in between two market stalls and watched the people hurrying about, so I started to document the experience in verse:
An Island of Serenity
An island of serenity amidst the milling throng All around me darts a world to which I don’t belong, Convinced a slice of heaven can be found here on a shelf, Or else at least a key to unlocking your true self.
Calming Christmas music wafts down the glassy walls, Drifting over harried workers at the market stalls, The peace that washes over me warms me to my core, Giving me a foretaste of that Life that lies in store
When my time down here is done and Your face I shall see, And you give me the great prize that you won at Calvary. Your love is so unmerited, so shockingly divine, It seems so insufficient to just give you all that’s mine;
Give me an opportunity to be a blessing here, A broken soul with eyes to see and a listening ear, That a fellow traveller might find the hope you give, Find rest from all his mortal woes and truly start to live.
This song is adapted from an upcoming collaborative project with Anthony Marchetta, and also commemorated my twenty-first wedding anniversary last week. (a new version of the video with improved audio has now been uploaded
Options for downloading or listening via major online stores and streaming services can be found here as soon as they become available:
For those of you who haven’t heard about it, my old client and friend Yakov Merkin has been very busy over the past couple of years, and is running a successful fundraiser for the continuation of his Light Unto Another World series, whose promotional video includes some high-quality animation. I haven’t been involved at all in this work of his, but knowing him it’s a good bet to be entertaining. Click on the image below to take a look and see whether this is something you’d be interested in backing
The Zwyckyverse 