Monday, January 29, 2007

Yesterday's Winter

I'm trying something a bit different today, something I've been thinking about doing. I've written a short poem, "Yesterday's Winter" to go with some old home movie footage. I thought I might read it to you for change. Interested? I've also included the text below.




Nothing in the world moves
Except the white wind
And the pines
beating back the snow

Heat clicks
In the walls and floor
As crystalline knives etch
Perfection on the window

Stare where the sun
Used to be
Narrow falling
Too tired to rise
Weave threads of stillness
Where every touch
Every wish
Weighs heavy on your eyes

I remember the wonder
Not like now
I listen too hard for the silence

The wind is different
And the snow will never cover me again.


ANNOUNCEMENT: I am honored that my poem "Kneeling" was recently chosen to be included in the poetry anthology site, Living in Poetry. Thank you to the editors!

22 comments:

anne frasier said...

jason, that is absolutely wonderful.
wow, wow, wow. what a fantastic idea! it rates a 10 for me on all three -- visual, text, voice. very nice.

briliantdonkey said...

I have to agree with Anne. That was flat out awesome! Nice work.

BD

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Jason,
You're such a creative poet & writer.
You have my admiration for this and also for your work.
Lovely poem. Folksy. Like a deep ballad.
I only had a poblem with the flashes.
The footage was excellent & I felt that the scene of the car moving away from the snow, was surreal! That part was pure magic! :-)

anne said...

You know I'm not big on poetry, but I really like this concept, and the effect in your voice.

Jaye Wells said...

I have chills. The whole effect was haunting and lovely. Congrats on the inclusion in the anthology.

Anonymous said...

Congrats Jason! well deserved
as for You Tube.. can't get there
but loved the poem - especially
the close.

damn blogger! i shall try once more
anna

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Jason, that's wonderful news.

And the poem paired with the video... inspired and inspiring.

Unknown said...

Loved hearing the poem out loud, definitely makes it more alive than reading it in your head. Loved the images too. Great idea.

Anonymous said...

Anne, I'm pretty blown away by the response! :) I wasn't totally thrilled with the poem, but it was kind of spooky how well parts of it meshed with the old footage. BTW, thanks for posting this on your blog!!!

BD, wow, thanks for the kind words!

Susan, I know what you mean about the video. Between the pulsing light (from the old projector) and the digital noise between scenes, I wasn't thrilled with the video half of this. I should keep in mind, though, that this footage has been through the ringer. First, super 8 film around 1974, next copied manually to VHS around 1994, copied DVD last year, then imported into Windows Movie Maker now. Yikes.

Anne, thanks. :) The voice part was really what was new here.

Jaye, thanks, my friend. I like how the whole thing ends with blackness.

Anna, you have really been suffering from Blogger! A pox on it! I hope you get to see the YouTube video.

Susan, much appreciated! Great to see you back. :)

Verillion, I like hearing how other people perform their poems. They give the words a unique life.

mermaid said...

I hear the voice of a boy and a man.

As adults, we often yearn for the silence; the noise is too commonplace.

I hear the voice of the boy and the man. In the silent pauses between your words, I can hear 'the different wind'.

You will never be covered the same way, but you will stay warm.

Roberta said...

I remember that winter. It was April, Easter. I grew up not far from you. Played havock on our Easter dresses and shoes! I'm from Clarksburg/Bridgeport WV. :)

...and I remember that winter.

astrologymemphis.blogspot.com said...

'74 was a great year, and this post was inspiring, too. I happen to like old jumpy film (I deliberately tried to imitate it in one of my vids).

Congratulations on being included in the anthology!

S. Kearney said...

I had goose bumps hearing and seeing that, Jason! Excellent poem. Very moving. You're pitch in the voice was perfect ... and I loved the pause before the last line.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the anthology! And along with everyone else- I also think it was a great poem.

Anonymous said...

Mermaid, always the perceptive one. Thank you for your sensitivity.

Roberta, so I was right about 1974? I was giving it my best guess based on my age (I wasn't in the footage I selected, though). Looks like a whopper. BTW, my family moved to Buffalo during the blizzard of 1977. Nice.

SW, aren't the old films wonderful? I'm happy to have gotten them onto DVD to preserve them.

Shameless, thanks for the kind words about the performance! Doing a recording really makes you appreciate how much work goes into voice.

Eileen, thanks, my friend. :)

LiVEwiRe said...

What a wonderful combination. You are going to be the multi-media king here soon! It's always something special to hear a poem read by the person that actually wrote it. This was a treat and I truly enjoyed coming out of my little hidey-hole in blogland to experience this. ;)

Jay said...

This was a great experiment, and I will not be at all surprised to find many poets following suit. Kudos to you, and I hope to see more like this in the future.

Anonymous said...

what loevly poem read with such lovely voice

nasra
www.iamnasra.blogspot.com

Jeff said...

Very well done, Jason. And congratulations on the selection of your poem, "Kneeling."

apprentice said...

You read really well. I like this piece very much, especially the world weary feeling at the end.

The footage works well with the pace of your deliver, it's quite fast and choppy, while your vioce is very measured, it's an interesting contrast

Michele said...

Wow... that's really beautiful!
I can't view the show ... takes an hour to download usually, but the words... the words are pictures themselves.
I like it a lot!
Hugs!
M

Anonymous said...

Livewire, thanks for coming over to listen. :)

Jay, great to see you! I enjoyed giving that little extra that reading a poem brings.

Yeah, I definitely like you, Kate. ;)

Nasra, thanks for the kind words. :) I was happy to share it with you.

Jeff, much appreciated. Thanks!

Apprentice, those were great insights. I especially appreciate the "world weary" comment. Glad that change in mood came through.

Michele, thanks, my friend! I wish you could hear it, but it's a pretty big file.