The magic made by melody

 

I am in need of music by Elizabeth Bishop

 

I am in need of music that would flow
Over my fretful, feeling fingertips,
Over my bitter-tainted, trembling lips,
With melody, deep, clear, and liquid-slow.
Oh, for the healing swaying, old and low,
Of some song sung to rest the tired dead,
A song to fall like water on my head,
And over quivering limbs, dream flushed to glow!

There is a magic made by melody:
A spell of rest, and quiet breath, and cool
Heart, that sinks through fading colors deep
To the subaqueous stillness of the sea,
And floats forever in a moon-green pool,
Held in the arms of rhythm and of sleep.

 

Source: Music Notes Wallpaper collection

My thoughts:

Music touches us all in some way or the other. Though our preferences for genres of music may change, one will be hard pressed to find any human being who doesn't like some form of music. I think a liking for music is one of the basic traits of being human. There is music all around us in nature - in the call of the birds, in the rustling of the leaves, in the whistling of the breeze, in the gurgling of the streams and maybe even in the whirling of the stars high above. We just have  to listen and be soothed - "held in the arms of rhythm and sleep".

Music has always been my refuge and my solace in times of distress or depression. Notes of music flowing through my blood, falling "like water on my head", truly feel like a healing breath, "a spell of rest", a calm port in a sea of storm. At night, after a busy maddening day, I often relax by listening to my favorite Sufi melodies or swaying to the rhythm of an old song. That is why I can identify so strongly with what this song conveys.

About the poet:

Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) was an American poet and a short story writer. During her lifetime, she was a respected yet somewhat obscure figure in the world of American literature. However, after her death, her reputation has grown significantly. She was a perfectionist who did not write prolifically and wrote only 101 poems during her lifetime. Her verse is marked by precise descriptions of the physical world and an air of poetic serenity, but her underlying themes include grief, longing and a struggle to find a sense of belonging.