LIZZY SPEAKS TO JOY
Dec 27th 1990 - Granny (Lizzy) passes.
Joy was sad about losing her granny and I tried to ease her loss with prose. The poem evolved into a song.
Lizzy Speaks to Joy ended up on our Medicine Lands album quite by accident a few years later. I had no idea what Joy and our daughters, Caroline and Katherine, were up to at the end of one of our sessions. Standing with their winter coats on preparing to leave, they started singing this song acapella while Paul LaChappell was sitting at the dials. Paul thought we should record it and we decided to include it on the album.
<Click here to listen to Lizzy Speaks to Joy>
Call to me
We are never that far apart
From my distant home all is well
I see you now in winter’s white
Walking with sadness child
Open your eyes to the wonder of light
Call to me
Call to me rest your thoughts on my life
In the fairest of times we are one kiss apart
And if you can’t believe our trust is broken
Each voice of despair will steal you away
Call to me
Rest your thoughts on my life
Call to me
We are one kiss apart
Call to me
© Fredrick Brooks 1991
Katherine, Joy, and Caroline at Whitby Courthouse Theatre
<Click here to listen to At the Potter’s Wheel>
AT THE POTTER’S WHEEL
My Father would sculpt bones
Spin soft Earth
Follow his circular wheel kneading its creation
A ballet of clay and flesh with it’s familiar
browns and greys
His trail of smoke rising — Marking the end of day
It’s how I remember him — A subtle longing
His samovar hissing — His union smock removed
Tired bones folded — The sweet smell of brew
Watching him drift
Sparring with sleep
The invasion of night.
For my Father
© Fredrick Brooks
Painting Ruth Read
From The Quarterly (2013)
