Poem: "The Discovery of Motion"

So far today, I've participated in a ritual, finished a 3000-word article on spicy herbs, written a lengthy LJ post on shopping, proofread an article on specially structured gardens and submitted that to Llewellyn, and hacked away at my backlog of email. So I'm going to post something quick and easy and already written, in case I get swamped with other stuff tomorrow.

A while back, Suzette Haden Elgin wrote an excellent and engrossing -- and very disturbing -- poem called "No Covenant." You need to read that first. Several of her readers got so fascinated wtih the setting and its core conundrum that we wanted to explore it further. She graciously opened it to fanfic and poetry. So here is mine, which takes place some time after "No Covenant." As always, comments are welcome but not required.

The Discovery of Motion
– inspired by “No Covenant” by Suzette Haden Elgin

It is like birth.
It is like death.
Transcendent transformation,
implacable and utter –
we were all
caught off-guard by it.

We are formless,
yet not without feelings:
we can still suffer,
or rejoice.

We are disembodied,
yet not wholly desolate:
we can communicate,
and recall the world where
once we lived.

It was the mothers
who discovered motion.
When we learned to communicate,
we were all crying out in the void,
and the mothers knew the mind-voices
of their children, somehow.
Having no hands, still they yearned
to reach out – and learned
that love is something
the soul can get ahold of.
It can draw two people together,
like two astronauts climbing a rope
stretched taut between them in zero-g.
Formless mothers connected with
bodiless babies, and the crying
began to quiet.

“So that’s what love is for,”
someone said, “it allows us
to navigate through soulspace,
like legs used to let us walk on Earth.”

It was the philosophers
who reminded us of continuity.
“I think, therefore there is coherence,”
said one.

Then the scientists joined in:
“Where there is coherence,
there must be laws.
Where there are laws,
they can be discovered,
codified,
applied.”

So we began to turn our attention
from what we had lost
to what we might have gained.

Poem: "The Discovery of Motion"

So far today, I've participated in a ritual, finished a 3000-word article on spicy herbs, written a lengthy LJ post on shopping, proofread an article on specially structured gardens and submitted that to Llewellyn, and hacked away at my backlog of email. So I'm going to post something quick and easy and already written, in case I get swamped with other stuff tomorrow.

A while back, Suzette Haden Elgin wrote an excellent and engrossing -- and very disturbing -- poem called "No Covenant." You need to read that first. Several of her readers got so fascinated wtih the setting and its core conundrum that we wanted to explore it further. She graciously opened it to fanfic and poetry. So here is mine, which takes place some time after "No Covenant." As always, comments are welcome but not required.

The Discovery of Motion
– inspired by “No Covenant” by Suzette Haden Elgin

It is like birth.
It is like death.
Transcendent transformation,
implacable and utter –
we were all
caught off-guard by it.

We are formless,
yet not without feelings:
we can still suffer,
or rejoice.

We are disembodied,
yet not wholly desolate:
we can communicate,
and recall the world where
once we lived.

It was the mothers
who discovered motion.
When we learned to communicate,
we were all crying out in the void,
and the mothers knew the mind-voices
of their children, somehow.
Having no hands, still they yearned
to reach out – and learned
that love is something
the soul can get ahold of.
It can draw two people together,
like two astronauts climbing a rope
stretched taut between them in zero-g.
Formless mothers connected with
bodiless babies, and the crying
began to quiet.

“So that’s what love is for,”
someone said, “it allows us
to navigate through soulspace,
like legs used to let us walk on Earth.”

It was the philosophers
who reminded us of continuity.
“I think, therefore there is coherence,”
said one.

Then the scientists joined in:
“Where there is coherence,
there must be laws.
Where there are laws,
they can be discovered,
codified,
applied.”

So we began to turn our attention
from what we had lost
to what we might have gained.

Poem: "The Discovery of Motion"

So far today, I've participated in a ritual, finished a 3000-word article on spicy herbs, written a lengthy LJ post on shopping, proofread an article on specially structured gardens and submitted that to Llewellyn, and hacked away at my backlog of email. So I'm going to post something quick and easy and already written, in case I get swamped with other stuff tomorrow.

A while back, Suzette Haden Elgin wrote an excellent and engrossing -- and very disturbing -- poem called "No Covenant." You need to read that first. Several of her readers got so fascinated wtih the setting and its core conundrum that we wanted to explore it further. She graciously opened it to fanfic and poetry. So here is mine, which takes place some time after "No Covenant." As always, comments are welcome but not required.

The Discovery of Motion
– inspired by “No Covenant” by Suzette Haden Elgin

It is like birth.
It is like death.
Transcendent transformation,
implacable and utter –
we were all
caught off-guard by it.

We are formless,
yet not without feelings:
we can still suffer,
or rejoice.

We are disembodied,
yet not wholly desolate:
we can communicate,
and recall the world where
once we lived.

It was the mothers
who discovered motion.
When we learned to communicate,
we were all crying out in the void,
and the mothers knew the mind-voices
of their children, somehow.
Having no hands, still they yearned
to reach out – and learned
that love is something
the soul can get ahold of.
It can draw two people together,
like two astronauts climbing a rope
stretched taut between them in zero-g.
Formless mothers connected with
bodiless babies, and the crying
began to quiet.

“So that’s what love is for,”
someone said, “it allows us
to navigate through soulspace,
like legs used to let us walk on Earth.”

It was the philosophers
who reminded us of continuity.
“I think, therefore there is coherence,”
said one.

Then the scientists joined in:
“Where there is coherence,
there must be laws.
Where there are laws,
they can be discovered,
codified,
applied.”

So we began to turn our attention
from what we had lost
to what we might have gained.

Poem: "The Discovery of Motion"

So far today, I've participated in a ritual, finished a 3000-word article on spicy herbs, written a lengthy LJ post on shopping, proofread an article on specially structured gardens and submitted that to Llewellyn, and hacked away at my backlog of email. So I'm going to post something quick and easy and already written, in case I get swamped with other stuff tomorrow.

A while back, Suzette Haden Elgin wrote an excellent and engrossing -- and very disturbing -- poem called "No Covenant." You need to read that first. Several of her readers got so fascinated wtih the setting and its core conundrum that we wanted to explore it further. She graciously opened it to fanfic and poetry. So here is mine, which takes place some time after "No Covenant." As always, comments are welcome but not required.

The Discovery of Motion
– inspired by “No Covenant” by Suzette Haden Elgin

It is like birth.
It is like death.
Transcendent transformation,
implacable and utter –
we were all
caught off-guard by it.

We are formless,
yet not without feelings:
we can still suffer,
or rejoice.

We are disembodied,
yet not wholly desolate:
we can communicate,
and recall the world where
once we lived.

It was the mothers
who discovered motion.
When we learned to communicate,
we were all crying out in the void,
and the mothers knew the mind-voices
of their children, somehow.
Having no hands, still they yearned
to reach out – and learned
that love is something
the soul can get ahold of.
It can draw two people together,
like two astronauts climbing a rope
stretched taut between them in zero-g.
Formless mothers connected with
bodiless babies, and the crying
began to quiet.

“So that’s what love is for,”
someone said, “it allows us
to navigate through soulspace,
like legs used to let us walk on Earth.”

It was the philosophers
who reminded us of continuity.
“I think, therefore there is coherence,”
said one.

Then the scientists joined in:
“Where there is coherence,
there must be laws.
Where there are laws,
they can be discovered,
codified,
applied.”

So we began to turn our attention
from what we had lost
to what we might have gained.

Archon/NASFiC -- The Music

We often catch a filk concert while at a convention. This time we attended several, and bought some albums too.

The first was the "Bardic Concert, Part II" on Friday afternoon at 5 PM. It featured Blind Lemming Chiffon, Mary Crowell, and Tom Smith. Blind Lemming Chiffon has a filky, fannish, style that's strongest on nostalgic songs that rely on emotional impact; he plays guitar. Mary Crowell has an amazingly sultry voice, perfect for "bad girl" songs. I was particularly charmed by the one about growing up to be Jessica Rabbit. She plays keyboard with a blues/jazz flavor. It wasn't until we got home that Doug figured out that Mary belongs to the Pagan band Three Weird Sisters, whose music I've enjoyed in the past. We wound up buying her new CD Courting My Muse and you can find a copy of your own here. Tom Smith is a favorite performer, and the one we actually went to the concert for. He sings very wacky humor and satire, and plays guitar. We bought one of his new iTom albums, iTom 1.0: And So It Begins -- the one with "Hey, It's Can(n)on" (aka "Hermione Granger, the Pirate Queen") on it. He's also on LiveJournal as filkertom.

The second was "Wild Mercy" on Friday night at 9 PM. Wild Mercy consists of Barry (bass, guitars, Roland GR-33 guitar synth, vocals), Debbie (keyboards, percussion, vocals, occasional guitar), Jennifer (harp, vocals, bass guitar, psaltery), and Sally (drums). I was most enchanted by Jennifer, of course, being a big fan of harps and harpers, and she has a marvelous slinky voice. But I also enjoyed the complex counterpoint the band vocalists wove together in some of the songs. The music has kind of a Celtic/jazz flavor, very eclectic. Alas! My favorite songs from their performance were all unavailable, being either a) covers of somebody else's songs, or b) on the list for the CD that's currently in production. I am waiting not-very-patiently for that so I can hear "A Star for the County Down" again, one of their lightship songs. I like song cycles too, that relate to people and events in the same setting over time. But Doug was sufficiently charmed by the band to bring home one of their current albums, Summer Storm.

The third concert was "The Great Luke Ski" at 10 PM on Friday night. The Great Luke Ski is a hilarious visual comedian as well as a talented filk singer. He performed a few new pieces ("I Love You, TiVo" is among the most nakedly honest things I've ever heard a man sing) and some old favorites such as "It's a Fanboy Christmas" and "88 Lines About 44 Simpsons." He has a new album out, BACONspiracy, but our budget was already stretched so we'll have to get that one later.

Then we went to see the "Tom Smith" solo concert on Saturday at 1 PM. By that point, I was tired and my body was protesting the amount of time I'd spent sitting near-motionless in crummy hotel chairs. But Tom was still funny, and I was pleased to learn that he is now happily self-employed as a full-time filker. Feed the Bards, buy an album.

Finally, there was this extra bit of music: at one point I walked into the Dealer's Room to hear ... murmuring bagpipes? Yes, indeed. Maria Murda was playing a set of "parlor pipes" which are designed for indoor use. The sound is much mellower and more sonorous than ordinary bagpipes, sounding rather like a fistful of melancholy oboes. I like all kinds of pipes, including this one which is new to me.

Archon/NASFiC -- The Music

We often catch a filk concert while at a convention. This time we attended several, and bought some albums too.

The first was the "Bardic Concert, Part II" on Friday afternoon at 5 PM. It featured Blind Lemming Chiffon, Mary Crowell, and Tom Smith. Blind Lemming Chiffon has a filky, fannish, style that's strongest on nostalgic songs that rely on emotional impact; he plays guitar. Mary Crowell has an amazingly sultry voice, perfect for "bad girl" songs. I was particularly charmed by the one about growing up to be Jessica Rabbit. She plays keyboard with a blues/jazz flavor. It wasn't until we got home that Doug figured out that Mary belongs to the Pagan band Three Weird Sisters, whose music I've enjoyed in the past. We wound up buying her new CD Courting My Muse and you can find a copy of your own here. Tom Smith is a favorite performer, and the one we actually went to the concert for. He sings very wacky humor and satire, and plays guitar. We bought one of his new iTom albums, iTom 1.0: And So It Begins -- the one with "Hey, It's Can(n)on" (aka "Hermione Granger, the Pirate Queen") on it. He's also on LiveJournal as filkertom.

The second was "Wild Mercy" on Friday night at 9 PM. Wild Mercy consists of Barry (bass, guitars, Roland GR-33 guitar synth, vocals), Debbie (keyboards, percussion, vocals, occasional guitar), Jennifer (harp, vocals, bass guitar, psaltery), and Sally (drums). I was most enchanted by Jennifer, of course, being a big fan of harps and harpers, and she has a marvelous slinky voice. But I also enjoyed the complex counterpoint the band vocalists wove together in some of the songs. The music has kind of a Celtic/jazz flavor, very eclectic. Alas! My favorite songs from their performance were all unavailable, being either a) covers of somebody else's songs, or b) on the list for the CD that's currently in production. I am waiting not-very-patiently for that so I can hear "A Star for the County Down" again, one of their lightship songs. I like song cycles too, that relate to people and events in the same setting over time. But Doug was sufficiently charmed by the band to bring home one of their current albums, Summer Storm.

The third concert was "The Great Luke Ski" at 10 PM on Friday night. The Great Luke Ski is a hilarious visual comedian as well as a talented filk singer. He performed a few new pieces ("I Love You, TiVo" is among the most nakedly honest things I've ever heard a man sing) and some old favorites such as "It's a Fanboy Christmas" and "88 Lines About 44 Simpsons." He has a new album out, BACONspiracy, but our budget was already stretched so we'll have to get that one later.

Then we went to see the "Tom Smith" solo concert on Saturday at 1 PM. By that point, I was tired and my body was protesting the amount of time I'd spent sitting near-motionless in crummy hotel chairs. But Tom was still funny, and I was pleased to learn that he is now happily self-employed as a full-time filker. Feed the Bards, buy an album.

Finally, there was this extra bit of music: at one point I walked into the Dealer's Room to hear ... murmuring bagpipes? Yes, indeed. Maria Murda was playing a set of "parlor pipes" which are designed for indoor use. The sound is much mellower and more sonorous than ordinary bagpipes, sounding rather like a fistful of melancholy oboes. I like all kinds of pipes, including this one which is new to me.

Archon/NASFiC -- The Music

We often catch a filk concert while at a convention. This time we attended several, and bought some albums too.

The first was the "Bardic Concert, Part II" on Friday afternoon at 5 PM. It featured Blind Lemming Chiffon, Mary Crowell, and Tom Smith. Blind Lemming Chiffon has a filky, fannish, style that's strongest on nostalgic songs that rely on emotional impact; he plays guitar. Mary Crowell has an amazingly sultry voice, perfect for "bad girl" songs. I was particularly charmed by the one about growing up to be Jessica Rabbit. She plays keyboard with a blues/jazz flavor. It wasn't until we got home that Doug figured out that Mary belongs to the Pagan band Three Weird Sisters, whose music I've enjoyed in the past. We wound up buying her new CD Courting My Muse and you can find a copy of your own here. Tom Smith is a favorite performer, and the one we actually went to the concert for. He sings very wacky humor and satire, and plays guitar. We bought one of his new iTom albums, iTom 1.0: And So It Begins -- the one with "Hey, It's Can(n)on" (aka "Hermione Granger, the Pirate Queen") on it. He's also on LiveJournal as filkertom.

The second was "Wild Mercy" on Friday night at 9 PM. Wild Mercy consists of Barry (bass, guitars, Roland GR-33 guitar synth, vocals), Debbie (keyboards, percussion, vocals, occasional guitar), Jennifer (harp, vocals, bass guitar, psaltery), and Sally (drums). I was most enchanted by Jennifer, of course, being a big fan of harps and harpers, and she has a marvelous slinky voice. But I also enjoyed the complex counterpoint the band vocalists wove together in some of the songs. The music has kind of a Celtic/jazz flavor, very eclectic. Alas! My favorite songs from their performance were all unavailable, being either a) covers of somebody else's songs, or b) on the list for the CD that's currently in production. I am waiting not-very-patiently for that so I can hear "A Star for the County Down" again, one of their lightship songs. I like song cycles too, that relate to people and events in the same setting over time. But Doug was sufficiently charmed by the band to bring home one of their current albums, Summer Storm.

The third concert was "The Great Luke Ski" at 10 PM on Friday night. The Great Luke Ski is a hilarious visual comedian as well as a talented filk singer. He performed a few new pieces ("I Love You, TiVo" is among the most nakedly honest things I've ever heard a man sing) and some old favorites such as "It's a Fanboy Christmas" and "88 Lines About 44 Simpsons." He has a new album out, BACONspiracy, but our budget was already stretched so we'll have to get that one later.

Then we went to see the "Tom Smith" solo concert on Saturday at 1 PM. By that point, I was tired and my body was protesting the amount of time I'd spent sitting near-motionless in crummy hotel chairs. But Tom was still funny, and I was pleased to learn that he is now happily self-employed as a full-time filker. Feed the Bards, buy an album.

Finally, there was this extra bit of music: at one point I walked into the Dealer's Room to hear ... murmuring bagpipes? Yes, indeed. Maria Murda was playing a set of "parlor pipes" which are designed for indoor use. The sound is much mellower and more sonorous than ordinary bagpipes, sounding rather like a fistful of melancholy oboes. I like all kinds of pipes, including this one which is new to me.

Archon/NASFiC -- The Music

We often catch a filk concert while at a convention. This time we attended several, and bought some albums too.

The first was the "Bardic Concert, Part II" on Friday afternoon at 5 PM. It featured Blind Lemming Chiffon, Mary Crowell, and Tom Smith. Blind Lemming Chiffon has a filky, fannish, style that's strongest on nostalgic songs that rely on emotional impact; he plays guitar. Mary Crowell has an amazingly sultry voice, perfect for "bad girl" songs. I was particularly charmed by the one about growing up to be Jessica Rabbit. She plays keyboard with a blues/jazz flavor. It wasn't until we got home that Doug figured out that Mary belongs to the Pagan band Three Weird Sisters, whose music I've enjoyed in the past. We wound up buying her new CD Courting My Muse and you can find a copy of your own here. Tom Smith is a favorite performer, and the one we actually went to the concert for. He sings very wacky humor and satire, and plays guitar. We bought one of his new iTom albums, iTom 1.0: And So It Begins -- the one with "Hey, It's Can(n)on" (aka "Hermione Granger, the Pirate Queen") on it. He's also on LiveJournal as filkertom.

The second was "Wild Mercy" on Friday night at 9 PM. Wild Mercy consists of Barry (bass, guitars, Roland GR-33 guitar synth, vocals), Debbie (keyboards, percussion, vocals, occasional guitar), Jennifer (harp, vocals, bass guitar, psaltery), and Sally (drums). I was most enchanted by Jennifer, of course, being a big fan of harps and harpers, and she has a marvelous slinky voice. But I also enjoyed the complex counterpoint the band vocalists wove together in some of the songs. The music has kind of a Celtic/jazz flavor, very eclectic. Alas! My favorite songs from their performance were all unavailable, being either a) covers of somebody else's songs, or b) on the list for the CD that's currently in production. I am waiting not-very-patiently for that so I can hear "A Star for the County Down" again, one of their lightship songs. I like song cycles too, that relate to people and events in the same setting over time. But Doug was sufficiently charmed by the band to bring home one of their current albums, Summer Storm.

The third concert was "The Great Luke Ski" at 10 PM on Friday night. The Great Luke Ski is a hilarious visual comedian as well as a talented filk singer. He performed a few new pieces ("I Love You, TiVo" is among the most nakedly honest things I've ever heard a man sing) and some old favorites such as "It's a Fanboy Christmas" and "88 Lines About 44 Simpsons." He has a new album out, BACONspiracy, but our budget was already stretched so we'll have to get that one later.

Then we went to see the "Tom Smith" solo concert on Saturday at 1 PM. By that point, I was tired and my body was protesting the amount of time I'd spent sitting near-motionless in crummy hotel chairs. But Tom was still funny, and I was pleased to learn that he is now happily self-employed as a full-time filker. Feed the Bards, buy an album.

Finally, there was this extra bit of music: at one point I walked into the Dealer's Room to hear ... murmuring bagpipes? Yes, indeed. Maria Murda was playing a set of "parlor pipes" which are designed for indoor use. The sound is much mellower and more sonorous than ordinary bagpipes, sounding rather like a fistful of melancholy oboes. I like all kinds of pipes, including this one which is new to me.