Changed: La Vie C'est La Vie by Jessie Redmon Fauset

"La Vie C'est La Vie" by Jessie Redmon Fauset made me appreciate how poetry, or writing in general, can build up an idyllic setting only to underscore, or contrast, it with sadness or horror or loneliness or fear or so many other emotions, and in doing so heighten the descriptions of both the setting/situation and the contrasted emotion/actions. I especially love the last two lines, as they speak to a kind of acceptance and reluctant resignation, and then counter that acceptance of life's follies with a wish, perhaps not completely serious, that life were over rather than to endure more of life's jests. This especially works well with the connection of love and pain earlier in the poem. http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/la-vie-cest-la-vie

La Vie C’est La Vie

Jessie Redmon Fauset

On summer afternoons I sit
Quiescent by you in the park
And idly watch the sunbeams gild
And tint the ash-trees’ bark.

Or else I watch the squirrels frisk
And chaffer in the grassy lane;
And all the while I mark your voice
Breaking with love and pain.

I know a woman who would give
Her chance of heaven to take my place;
To see the love-light in your eyes,
The love-glow on your face!

And there’s a man whose lightest word
Can set my chilly blood afire;
Fulfillment of his least behest
Defines my life’s desire.

But he will none of me, nor I
Of you. Nor you of her. ‘Tis said
The world is full of jests like these.—
I wish that I were dead.

Changed: The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes

I count "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes as one of the poems that made me fall in love with poetry. There were many, but this one stands out after more than a decade because it introduced me to a writer I would become devoted too to the point of obsession. I was, and am, amazed by the play of words to create a melodic flow that pulls the reader in and along. The word choice and description are so vivid that, for me, they transport the reader to the poem's setting.  The Weary Blues

The Weary Blues

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
     I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
     He did a lazy sway . . .
     He did a lazy sway . . .
To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
     O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
     Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
     O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
     “Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
       Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
       I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
       And put ma troubles on the shelf.”

Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more—
     “I got the Weary Blues
       And I can’t be satisfied.
       Got the Weary Blues
       And can’t be satisfied—
       I ain’t happy no mo’
       And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.

Fear Project and Camp Nano!

This week's David Wellington Fear Project is frightful indeed. Frightfully delightful in the quality of stories available and just plain frightful regarding my concerns of getting the ax. And speaking of saxophones, maybe go on over and leave a comment on "Death Punk Ska" and check out some of the other stories on offer. They are all truly a delight to read.

In other news, opening day of April's Camp Nanowrimo. A month of literary abandon, and specifically for me, a month of focusing on poetry. Or telling myself that I will and crying because I'm not Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, or Natasha Trethewey.

Music Monday

I had the pleasure of going to a Doria Roberts concert in college, and immediately fell for her sound and her way of interacting with the audience. This song still gets me every time and remains one of my favorites, though there are so many songs by her I consider favorites. What are some of your favorite performers and what makes a great concert/performance in your opinion?

Film Night

A short film by a person:

Dream Girl

Musical Monday

There are times when I will become so enamored with a song that I listen to it on repeat for hours on end. One such song recently has been "Only if for a Night" by Florence + The Machine. I discovered it through Pandora a couple of months ago, at a time when I was downer than usual, and absolutely adored it. I've been brushing up on Florence + The Machine every since, and have a Pandora station based on around this song (well, it was based around this song but things tend to get out of hand pretty quickly for me and now it is pretty eclectic). I love the lyrics and the imagery they create in my mind. Yes, I may have developed several full music videos in my mind for the song. One of which may or may not be a few lone dancers dancing in a closed-off school building covered in dust.

Fear Project!

I hope everyone takes a moment to check out the stories at David Welington's Fear Project, and comment. The story with the most comments gets immunity from elimination. I am consistently amazed at the storytellers participating. Thursday night at 11:59 p.m. EST is the deadline for commenting. I must say, as stressful as it has been, I am very much enjoying the challenges.