The musical compositions performed at our Creatures of Heart & Hope Concert on March 19 & 20, 2022 were inspired by the following poems written by students at Ipswich High School and The Pingree School.
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Creatures of the Heart & Mind
by Chris Florio
Inspired by poems from Lydia Brendel and Charlize Vermaak
Movement I
Tendrils.
Long.
Blurred in a haze,
Slipping across my mind.
It’s eyes appearing void like a snow covered field.
But it’s tendrils continue to seek,
Searching for more.
Needing more.
This is the animal in my mind.
- Charlize Vermaak
Movement II
There’s a fiery dragon sailing through
Our silvery atmosphere
Amber eyes see miles below
Where his shadow summons fear
But upon a crest our dragons rests
His eyes sting with tears
Fall upon a little him
A butterfly, floating on the wind
- Lydia Brendel
Movement III
An Old Friend
Eyes which glisten like morning dew,
Draped by a sea of velvet fur.
Such beauty radiated through your body.
Tenderness leaking through your eyes.
The scent of home which tickles my nose,
How I have missed you my old friend.
- Charlize Vermaak
Movement IV
It’s the magic in the monsters
Of the creatures that mean no harm
That makes the good in all of us
Shine a little bit brighter
Imaginary creatures
Give us the hope we need
To fly away
And the strength we need
To face another day
And the power we need
To make the choice
To stay and try again
- Lydia Brendel
Winkle Whisp
by Thomas Palance
Inspired by poem from Charlotte Fortin
Winkle whisps,
the sparks of light that are never dimmed,
even in this dark,
Dark,
world.
The world was dark without her,
But then she,
with the twinkle in her eye,
the mirth in her smile,
the warmth in her hugs,
came into my world.
She gave one glance into my dark room,
and the light switch clicked on.
Her love is a winkle whisp.
Her comfort is a winkle whisp.
Her beauty is a winkle whisp.
And she,
She is a winkle whisp.
With her radiant smile,
brighter than the sun that shines above. Her
laugh,
contagious and absolutely adorable.
Her compassion,
Extended to all.
Her perspective,
That’s as refreshing as a swim on a hot summer
day. Everything,
Every little thing about her,
Is just totally and utterly brilliant.
Like the first star in the sky,
She glitters,
Blazing through my world.
And I’m so glad,
For my winkle whisp.
-Charlotte Fortin
The Window
by Jerry Gates
Inspired by poem from Chloe DeFrank
While I sit by the window
And let the vivid
yet subtle ambiance of fall
wash over me
The meer view of the scene calls me
Beckons my name in an irresistible impulse
With the intensity of a scream
but the benevolence of a lullaby
I step down the stairs.
Each creak of each step was a wail.
The dull void is self-evident.
Dysphoria that fills my heart
All I see are swirls of grey.
So I sprint
Run for the door
Run away from everything
As the dingy door screeches open
I stop.
Sit to take in this sheer bliss
Then I feel it
A Feeling
The feeling is fosreign and mysterious
But I am not afraid.
I look left and right.
Nothing
Then I see them.
Walking towards me
Even though their silhouette was is the form of a human
I knew it wasn’t.
As It comes close to me, I feel a profound warmth.
They are the sun.
The light
The thing I wish I had in my life but didn’t know before The candle shining
light on a new perspective
As It gets close I thought It would stop making its way towards me But this
being merely walks through me
I turned back to look
It was gone.
But that feeling of warmth
Stays
Not just stays
Magnifies
Euphoria fills my soul.
I am so free.
So liberated
So incredibly fulfilled
The Reds and the yellows of the trees were fires in the sky.
The crisp and enchanting view of this glorious autumn was the most radiant
sight. I truly had the purity and hope that radiated from the being.
Yet the being didn’t just affect me
It is me.
As I walk back into my home the room that was once grey and lifeless Is no
longer abandoned hope.
But a feeling of gaining it back
I walk back up the stairs.
I sit by the window.
And let the vivid
yet subtle ambiance of fall
wash over me
-Chloe DeFrank
Hopeful
by Joe Mulholland
Orchestrated and arranged by Jerry Gates
Inspired by poem from Kali Rataj
The crystal fairy named Sage
roamed the forest
searching for animals to tell about the
terrible people
trying to cut down the thoughtful trees
of their forest.
Though Sage didn’t know why
and she didn’t know how
Therefore she had to make sure
everyone new she was hopeful
that if they came together then
they could stop the human from
tearing down the trusting trees,
Once Sage spread the word
every animal decided
they had to save the forest
so they had a meeting
in the bear’s den, something had to be done.
They came up with a pristine plan
The plan was to guard the trees
once the humans came
they were so stunned that all the animals
came together they couldn’t do this to
these absolutely adorable animals
so they packed their things
and left the animals in peace.
- Kali Rataj
Hope is a Unicorn
by Jerry Gates
Inspired by Poem from Mia Russo
Hope is a Unicorn
Which purity can only see
Pure and Innocent the unicorn is born
Blinded to the unattainable hope to be
The picture of what you want to be
I see
I see
I see
The hope the unicorn has in store for me
I think
I think
I think
Covid-19 will stop me
From being what I want to be
Images of the past flash through my mind Looking back
Seeing how how much progress I’ve made
I see
I see
I see
What the unicorn has in store for me
An amazing, astonishing, appreciable future for me
- Mia Russo
The Purple Dog
By Jerry Gates
Inspired by poem from Brody Bicknell
People are different,
My dog is different,
Quite different that the rest,
My dog is the best
He’s the size of a house,
But that doesn’t matter,
Or that he’s purple,
Or that he has spots,
Or that he breathes fire,
It just matters that he cares for me lots,
He cares about about my friendship,
Although he drools,
He doesn’t care about hashtags, Twitters, or trolls,
Careless words of hurt or rapid unfollows,
He sees me for me, between the burps of fire,
He sees the world as bright, and never dire,
Even though heÅ› different, spotted and purple,
We should all think like him,
And itÅ› just that simple.
- Brody Bicknell
Oscar Was a Runner
by G. Paul Naeger
Inspired by poem from Lia Kermes
My father took the cat out, while my mum
was still getting ready
The cat was on his leash for about a minute
The leash was loose
And the cat ran, like it was being chased
by the meanest neighborhood dog
And up the telephone poll, three stories high
Up there he looked so small, although on the ground
he was quite a tall cat
My father stood there as the cat whined and
turned on the top of the poll,
Round and round like a music box
No one could come to save poor Oscar
The firemen despised rescuing cats,
and at animal rescue the person dedicated
to retrieving cats from such places
was out for the day
My father adorned his backpack,
like a kangaroo pouch
And climbed the rusted nails into the sky
Oscar turned
Round and round like a music box
The poor beast was so frightened,
that he hung by his claws to the fabric of my father’s
shirt as they ventured down the poll together
The last nail was far from the ground,
my father had to jump
The cat dislodged, ran, and was once again gone
My parents searched, along with all the neighbors
Many rats, but no Oscar
Round and round like a music box
They saw him, under an orange sun on the street
He ran, under the shed
My father once again attempted to save him
The shed came apart and the sweet,
cowardly cat was home
Wrapped in a towel, after a shower
Oscar was in my mums arms, his happy tail waving
Round and round like a music box
- Lia Kermes
Life is (Suite)
by Chris Florio
Inspired by poetry from Emma Paquette, Quinn Falvey
and Emma Labrecque
intro 1 - Movement I
Bushman
He’s a big bush
Tall and wide
Shrinks and grows
An endless pit of berries
All you can eat
When you want to eat
Call it over, anytime
Just say 8255.
He catches you when you fall
He’s like a hawk always watching
There when you need to talk
There if you need a walk
Anywhere and everywhere
- Emma Paquette
Intro 2 - Movement II
Untitled
Coarse fabric and frayed ivory.
sharp edges and warm vibrations.
Fingers cut across the plain,
The blacks and whites sink.
Fingertips massage this machine,
Caressing its cold buttons which push and strike,
A product of man,
deliverer of the heavens.
Thumbs tuck under index fingers,
Arms levitate left and right,
The sensation of creation,
The pleasure of ability.
Knuckles dance,
Veins ripen.
The bench rocks beneath you,
The creature hums against your hands;
Time loses significance.
- Quinn Falvey
intro 3 - Movement III
Magical Fall Leaf
The leaf falls slowly dancing
around in the wild wind.
You put out a hand
for the leaf to land.
The leaf lands for
the magic to happen,
turning to dust
with a wonderful reason.
Your wishes come true and
your fall worries are gone.
- Emma Labrecque
Creature in a Bubble
by G. Paul Naeger
Inspired by poem from Tia Speropolous
Creature in a Bubble
Creature in a bubble
Causing no one trouble
With each new passing day
Feelings hiding deep
Waiting for the moment to creep
Out from the shell, away
Contemplating the choice
To channel an inner voice
Or to keep safe inside
A voice of hope, of courage, of light
A voice of strength, passion, might
Calling him not to hide
This voice it knows
Right from wrong
Powerful and strong
Changing the world is hard to do
But maybe not,
If he can just break through
And the battle begins within the bubble
Between the creature and itself
So many thoughts
So many plans
A string of promise unfurls
The bubble tumbles, twists, twirls
The creature pushing, hard and fast
No fortress could last
Pop!
The great ball bursts
Creature in a bubble no more
Fearless at the core
A world of opportunities revealed
The voice inside was right
And with it a brave, benevolent, beast
Flies off into the night.
- Tia Speropolous
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