Between the Notes

Our love stands as tall as the far away mountains,

Haloed in clouds, toes dug in the earth.
Our love still sparkles like dewdrops and fountains,

Blessings of laughter, a wellspring of mirth.

Arms flung so wide they could wrap round the planet,

Gather me in with a breath and a sigh.

I can’t help but wonder how I could stand it,

If you travelled on and left me behind.

Don’t waste your tears on what hasn’t happened,

There’s sorrow enough to go all around.

No use in borrowing troubles imagined,

Or weeping for heartache you haven’t yet found.

So shake off the shivers and let’s go out dancing,
Music will chase away dark thoughts and gloom.

Between the notes, the balm of silence,
And we’ll turn away fear as we spin round the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah Gowan  September 2017

I wrote a tune called "Tilting Summer In" that fits this poem pretty well.

Help Me! Help Me!

What you can't see in this photo is that I'm
wearing my favorite black, knee-high riding
boots. I loved those things so much and
wore them for so long I'm pretty sure
my mom had to cut them off me.

Before we were able to video every blessed moment of our children's precious existence with our Dick Tracy watches and Star Trek tricorders, our family made audio recordings on reel-to-reel audio tapes. Some were made just for fun, many were sent to our grandparents who lived in North Carolina and Louisiana. Thanks to my brother Lon, who rescued a bunch of these tapes and had them digitized, I can now expand my social media oversharing by several decades.


Here is an audio clip from 1969 of me singing "In a Cabin In the Woods".  If you know the song, you'll remember it's done with hand gestures gradually replacing the lyrics so by the end of the song you mime the whole verse. This being audio-only I decided to hum the hand-gestures instead and in this ridiculously cute rendition the humming takes on a life of its own; so much so that I clearly felt the need to acknowledge it at the end of the song.

Here are the lyrics so you can sing along... I leave the hand gestures up to you.

In a cabin in the wood, (trace a cabin outline with your index fingers)
Little man by the window stood; (hand to your forehead shading your eyes and look around)
Saw a rabbit going before, (hold two fingers of one hand like rabbit ears, hopping)
Knocking at his door. (knock with fist)

 "Help me! Help me! Help! he said, (raise your hands up like you're surprised on each "help")
"Or the hunter will shoot me dead!" (gun pointing like Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits)
"Little rabbit, come inside, (beckon in)
Safely you'll abide." (Rock the baby in your arms)

I still love dresses with pockets.

The Tangle Faeries - Releasing an Idea to the Wild

Back in 1997 I wrote a poem with my 3 year old in mind. I shared it with my family and a couple of friends and then put it away with the thought that I might do something with it some day. Maybe a children's book or a song, I wasn't sure, but I knew I wasn't finished with it. Several years later I discovered that a guy in Atlanta had written a children's book using my idea, though not my words. Recently another person made a blog post claiming her precocious 3 year old came up with the story.

My first reaction was "How dare they steal my idea! What do I do about this!?" I knew that a lawsuit would be a waste of time and just felt too ugly to think about. I know full well how ideas get disseminated and if I really wanted to keep the idea for myself, I should have kept it to myself. (In this case I shared it with a touring musician who talked about it on one of his tours.)  I don't think anyone plagiarized my work, I think they heard the concept and had to make something with it probably forgetting the source completely. But my ego is hollering for credit and, to be perfectly honest, I like my poem best. So my blessings on the creative minds that took the concept their own way, and here is Tangle Faeries as I wrote it on February 6, 1997.

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The Tangle Faeries

"Sleep", says Mama, "Sweet dreams, sleep tight,

It's sleepytime, so say goodnight."

She whispers softly, singing low,

A lullaby most soft and slow,

Singing to the darkening air,

Of faeries dancing in your hair.

Jingle jangle, tingle tangle,

Faeries spin and dance and leap

Jingle jangle, tingle tangle,

With dreams a-billow, to your pillow

Weave night-magic while you sleep.

Flute and bell, drum and chime,

Dancing wildly arms entwined,

With moonlight and a twisty rhyme

They spin a spiral dream sublime

Turning round the slip of time,

A feather touch. Winds. Unwinds.

Some be frightful, some be wise,

Dreams of laughter and surprise,

Some flit away with day's first rise,

Morning stretch and open eyes.

Some stay a lifetime, dreamtime treasure,

Nighttime gifts of light and pleasure

Bell and flute, chime and drum,

Something magic this way comes!

Jingle jangle, tingle tangle,

Faeries spin and whirl and leap,

Jingle jangle, tingle tangle,

With dreams a-billow, to your pillow,

Weave night magic while you sleep.

"Good morning," says Mama, "Rise and shine,

The day's begun, it's wake-up time,"

Calling to the brightening air

A sparkling song, as with care,

She combs and brushes and laughs, "See there!

The Tangle Faeries danced in your hair!"

Sarah Gowan

Feb. 26, 1997