Maya Angelou passed away at age 86 after a full, colorful, vivid life. I never met her, but this poem came to me after I heard of her death on Wednesday. With all that is being written about her in celebration of her life, here is my offering:
5/28/14
Maya Angelou
1928-2014
And the day came
which some had feared
more than anything
and some looked forward to
the end of human suffering
the end that is also a beginning
and how the birds are singing!
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2014
I was moved by this powerful and spontaneous performance by young singer and voice teacher, Sarah Horn, on August 23, 2013, who was called up onstage to sing with Kristin Chenoweth. The original duet was posted on the internet and quickly went viral (3.5 million views as of Sept 8), obviously resonating with many people. Watch here. (This version is three videos later edited together). Follow up article.
I intended to post the poem inspired by this back in August, when everyone was paying attention, but life swept me along. In working on my next book I was reviewing past poems, and this poem came back to me. So here it is: An inspiring example of what can happen if we are ready and say yes…to life. And inspiration leads to creation…and on and on…. What has inspired you lately?
8/26/13
Sarah Horn Sings with Kristin Chenoweth
(before 10,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl)
When stars align
and impossible piles on
impossible and then
you are called,
and when you are ready,
if you are brave enough and trust,
you say yes
and step up even
if heart is pounding
and knees give way
a little. You say yes
because you are in
the right place and time
to speak, to sing
for everyone. And
everyone’s heart opens some.
And you are seen
and heard and known
and for that bit at least
you are aligned with the stars
and life shifts
not just for you
but all around
and that is the gift.
What you do with what has been given,
what you do with the possibility of new direction,
what you say to the clamoring,
holding what you love close and releasing,
how you thrive without armor…and sing,
remembering who you are,
that is up to you, dear one
now and evermore.
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2013
In response to my long-overdue Full Blooming News e-newsletter this week, I heard back from some people. Lovely connection!
My friend Charlotte from Georgia, commented that I even wrote my response to her poetically. We were talking about getting frustrated and discouraged sometimes, feeling like giving up. And I told her a realization that had been helpful to me lately, to get out of the impossible traps we set for ourselves. (What does it mean to be successful, anyway?) She took a paragraph of mine, added line breaks and color, and the result is below, which I like it a lot. Thank you!
Charlotte is a multi-talented woman who is a pianist, composer, gardener, photographer, memoirist and makes lovely videos using all these elements. Her latest is here. She inspires me!
What have your friends mirrored back to you lately?
4/2/14
This is what I have come to understand:
my job, should I choose to accept it,
is to deliver the poems.
To get them out in the world
to as many as can be helped.
It is about redefining success
as I had been longing for.
Success is doing my job:
delivering the poems—
to an individual,
to a group,
as best I can.
And that is all.
To do that means
being as healthy
and balanced
and grounded as I can—
every day.
It means listening inside
and paying attention
before I “fall off the cliff.”
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2014
If you did not get your copy of the April Full Blooming News, with all kinds of new stuff from the past 6 months, check your spam folder or sign up here. (For those with Gmail, check other folders like “promotion” or “updates” that it might be filed in.) I do not share email addresses with anyone for any reason. Happy Spring!
Snow and Shadow– MDMikus, Copyright 2014
Virtual Choir (and Eric Whitacre) has inspired many poems. This is another. VC is a virtual community and a real one too. Many VC members have met in real life, but whether they meet or not they support and encourage each other. And that positive energy spills over into real life. We are all better for it. This poem was inspired by VC member, Corax, aka Jeff. I am grateful for the connection.
1/28/14
On Imperfection
For Corax
On the other side of darkness
the past looks far away,
and if I didn’t know better,
mostly forgotten.
Live in the now,
isn’t that what they say?
I agree mostly and also intend
to remember my lessons:
not to repeat same old mistakes,
not to let the unconscious pilot the course,
to remember to breathe,
to always be kind and
to forgive, every day forgive
imperfection. For here we learn
by being in form, subject to complex patterns
we cannot sense or anticipate.
If we were perfect—
which we are somewhere—
what would be the point of
choosing to go to Earth-school?
As long as we are here—
those numbered precious days,
those rare allotted minutes—
we have work to do.
Get on with it.
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2014
Star Shadow– MDMikus, Copyright 2014
Elisabeth, Eric, me, and Lisa–Photo by Jonathan Cohon Copyright 2014
10:30 last night I drove back home in the snow from an incredible event with Eric Whitacre. So far exceeded any unconscious expectations I might have had, I was flying. It’s hard to pin down exactly why we were so thoroughly buzzed after. Everything lined up so perfectly it was one of those rare times when I felt in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, entirely content.
To recap: The latest snow—in one of the snowiest winters ever—held off for the drive in. I did not get turned around in Evanston, (which happens to me often). Easy parking in a covered lot a block away. Welcomed by new Virtual Choir friends, Elisabeth (and Jonathan), Darrell (and Penna), and Lisa at The Celtic Knot Pub in Evanston, where the food was good and the company was awesome!
Elisabeth, Lisa, Penna, Darrell and me–Photo by Jonathan Cohon Copyright 2014
At the urging of Darrell Polka, I read the most recent of my Eric Whitacre-Virtual Choir inspired poems to the group (see below). We then walked over to the Alice Millar Chapel at Northwestern University just as the snow was beginning to accumulate. Lovely dusting and reasonably warm (for these days). Beautiful space. Got to hear Eric rehearsing the Apollo Chorus singing his piece, Lux Aurumque, a conducting master class. Transcendent! He talked us through some of his creative process with such humor and warmth. Excellent questions asked in the Q & A with such thoughtful, vulnerable, insightful answers. We even all got to sing a few bars of a piece he is working on and then hear Lux Aurumque in entirety. Just soaked right into me!
Then the meet and greet (maybe as many as 700 of us). Eric is one of those rare people who can captivate an audience and also fully connect with individuals. He focused on each of us in turn, gracious and generous. Responsive, receiving, and…well, genuine. His energy and enthusiasm is just so contagious! I delivered the three poems to him, got a CD signed and photos taken (by Jonathan). Talked a minute or so and some whirlwind hugs. Floating…
When I first heard about Eric Whitacre coming nearby, I was recovering from major abdominal surgery and felt too vulnerable to go out on my own, certainly not drive and walk out in the slippery snow! Even though I wanted to meet my local Virtual Choir friends in real life, I didn’t plan on going. At some point, I decided to stop thinking about whether to go or not and just see if it all came together. Get out of my own way. I emailed for a ticket and that was good. Emailed the restaurant and they got back to me in an hour (yes, they had a gluten-free menu, very accommodating). And that was good. Parking was nearby. That was good. The weather was manageable and most of all I recovered. Walking the few minutes, even in snow was a piece of cake. That was good. Reassuring. As I said to Elisabeth, it all worked out. My job was to let it. Have you ever had that experience when you let go and allowed your life to come together?
Here are the poems, part of the ongoing collection inspired by Eric Whitacre and Virtual Choir.
8/28/13
Eric Whitacre: Godzilla Eats Las Vegas
(with Elvises)
There is music
takes itself so serious
and then
there is music
without a serious bone
that can sink in
to the dark places
and lighten
lift out of
and up
soaring without risk
of falling back.
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2013
8/28/13
Cracked Open After Louise Penny
While listening to Arvo Pärt Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten,
Proms, 2010 on YouTube—posted by Eric Whitacre on Facebook
Not about fixing
the irreparably broken
but creating
the newborn form
to take its place
in memoriam,
to allow, not push or defend
deliberate shoots that spring up
through soil
even if not particularly fertile,
and shoots can grow
into something novel
and bloom someday
into something as yet
merely envisioned…
almost.
To take the risk
as if…
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2013
10/2/13
Subset of Virtual Choir
Glow
Why
spend precious hours
on a seasonal short song
to sing into a camera and send?
Naked it feels
to risk a public
miscalculation
of being less than…
perfection.
The charismatic man
behind the tune
calling for the tribe,
offering a vision,
a chance to gather
even in competition
some, not all, will win. Why?
To open the door and get inside,
sync with the rhythm,
learn music from intent repetition
and deliver the song
to the green dot and beyond.
Why, again why?
Because to live
is to risk, is to stretch
is to grow, is to know
possibility of
contentment within
even virtual achievement.
To be connected,
not alone, to belong
through trials, through song
Innate in the genes, to be together,
though apparently separate.
For the inspiration,
follow the inclination,
why do anything,
hit a ball with a bat,
throw or jump or run,
pull a bow across strings,
stroke a key or blow into a tube,
riff on a guitar or beat a drum
is to express being…human
being with virtual friends.
Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2013
You may also like previous posts with poems inspired by Eric Whitacre and Virtual Choir