Euridyce

I sing to the sun in the sky
I sing to the sun rising high
Carnival time is here
magical time of year
and as the time draws near
dreams fill my heart

I'll sing while he plays his guitar
I'll sing as the night wakes the dawn
will love come my way
on this magical day
and will love stay in my heart

"Carnival", originally titled Manha de Carnaval, from the 1959 film Black Orpheus


Ever tell a story so many times it becomes the defining version?

Sometimes playing at parts that haven't solidified as habits can be an act of discovery. Here I have deliberately chosen to speak in Orpheus' voice and find my "self" unglued from temporal and gender moorings.

Sometimes it takes an epic journey to dislodge the masks--or even to notice their existence. What is this life but a rosary inviting us to stretch beyond the comfort zone of who we believe ourselves to be?



Euridyce!
a moment
ago
you were
safe
in my arms
now
all that remains
are
feathers and dust.

They say
you danced
with another
through tall grass
I glimpse your joy
(I am glad
for you,
Euridice)


Did I tell you
my bees
are dying?
I doubt
you are the one
to save them
Euridyce.

I am nobody special
I cannot walk on water
so wade
in dark shiny pools
sometimes
disappearing
for days.

I tried to follow
Euridyce
but blundered
into stony lands
crossed rivers
with sightless
feet
tasted
the frosted breath
of
fear.

I tell you
this is more
than I bargained for
when I fell in love
with a simple
country girl

Euridyce
My faces
slide
past each other
Euridyce
ringing
in my fossa
Euridyce
singing
in my eyes
is there any room
for cool mist or roam
between
your skin and mine?