d r u m

When I introduced our son to my grandmother, she nestled her face next to his, inhaled his newborn scent, and said: "He's fresh from God." This is what comes to mind when I listened to Amanda Gorman on Wednesday. Her poise, eloquence, cadence and sounds seem fresh from God. When I listen to her, when I look at her....I feel a divine presence. Thank you, God, for bringing us Amanda Gorman and her sacred words.

At the end of 2020, I shared with you a list of lessons I'm carrying forward into 2021, one being the reminder that poetry is prayer, and then to receive Gorman's 'The Hill We Climb'--a lit candle in a dark room--a prayer for hope, answered.

Friday night, I took my weekly drive to Gloucester to pick up pizza - yep, this take-out experience is how our house reminds ourselves that it's Friday. I volunteer to make the drive as I'm in the enjoyable habit of listening to a podcast on the roundtrip. And without much forethought, I landed on this worthy listen from Invisbilia which begins:

The way we usually think about sound...
Is that it's not really a thing you can hold on to.
Like it's here and then it's gone. 
But actually, waves of sound are powerful.
Strong enough to pulse through air and water...
And solid objects.
And when a sound reaches you...
Like when you actually hear it.
It's because that sound is physically touching you.
Winding its way inside your ear.
Until it hits the drum in your head.
And plays it.

The episode goes on to the tell the life journey of Bernie Krause, a musician who leaves the music industry to listen and record sounds from nature.  He eventually realizes sounds within natural habitats are actually a synchronistic orchestration in which species have their own frequencies to communicate on (that is to say, this is the case when you-know-who doesn't get in the way and destroy it!).   

This got me thinking hard about the power of sound and the sensation I felt in my chest listening to Amanda Gorman speak to our nation at the Inauguration.   It felt as though her words literally came through the television into my being, and I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.  Have you had a chance to watch Anderson Cooper interview Gorman yet?  Amanda talks about the power of words, how she sees the world in text, and how she had to overcome a speech impediment to deliver her words orally.  When she speaks, her words and articulation are transfixing, awe-inspiring.  It's as though she is tuning us back into a lost frequency--when I listen to her, I feel part of a collective rediscovery of what is soulful and true, and wow, does it feel good to have found this mainstream channel again.  

Here are some other inspiring listens that have touched me this past year (it's not lost on me that I've received a lot of inspiration from the UK.  Thank you Heather and MP for some of these recommendations):  

Have you heard this clever poem by Tomos Roberts?

You may have heard the Foo Fighters play 'Times Like These' on Wednesday night, but did you hear this version recorded last year?

Here are 3 songs I play over and over again in Blue Light Yoga- they get me everytime. 

Have a listen to the audio version of The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse.  (I'd say listen with the whole family on your next road trip but...reading it aloud before bed will do).

With love,
Georgia

PS Please send your worthy listens my way.
PPS As always, thank you for reading.