Monday Morning Musings:
“All I know
Is you are there
You are there
And I am here.
–Irene Sankoff and David Heine, “I am Here,” from Come From Away
“Suddenly there’s nothing in between me and the sky”
Irene Sankoff and David Heine, “Me and the Sky,” from Come From Away
“Think of it as a ghost play; the actor’s older bodies are haunting these thirteen-year-old characters.”
Clare Barron on her play, Dance Nation
“Are you here?” my mother asks
as I, involved in some ordinary task
stand just beyond her sight.
The boundaries between mist and light
time and dreams, seems porous, slight
and she drifts, and we drift again and again
Reflections in a rain puddle, Philadelphia
sunshine, then rain
“Here,” says the woman in the book
“Here,” I say, “Look.”
The twilight and dawn
the days that falter, end with a song
look at them fly
nothing between them and the sky
and we drink wine, talk of movies and why
they did this or that—it’s a metaphor
I say, and we laugh, remember more
to discuss, remember the time when it was just us
or when we were thirteen–
remember how life seemed?
All emotions, and the dreams?
Emotions now more settled, but more stress—
I digress.
Time right now to sit in gardens bright
to catch autumn’s glowing light
rain and sunshine, tears, delight
I was there once, now I’m here in sight–
of what? I’m not certain, but you are here
together we’re here,
and there’s magic in theater–and deer
and nature, magic in each day’s dawning
watching the sun rise, yawning
as it sets, and the cats that sleep, never fawning
honest with their desire
for food and love, we’re the suppliers
but we get it back, their love doesn’t expire
no ghosts in their bodies, at least that I see
they can just be–
and sometimes so can we—
here together,
I am here,
you are here,
nothing between us and sky–
in my dreams, we fly.
We actually saw two shows this week: Come From Away and Dance Nation. Come from Away is heartwarming without being cloying. It’s about people doing good. It’s about the town in Newfoundland that takes in flights following the terrorist attacks on 9/11. It’s poignant, but also very funny at times. The staging is wonderful, and we saw it in the beautiful Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Dance Nation is about a competitive dance team of middle school kids, but it’s also a memory play, as we see glimpses of the girls (and one boy’s) older selves. All the actors are adults. It’s laugh out loud funny at times, but it also makes you want to cheer. There’s a wonderful speech on female empowerment.
And for Merril’s Movie Club members—we finally got to the movies and saw Parasite. Yes, of course it has subtitles. It’s Korean. It’s about class and metaphors, and it’s excellent, but you know, it’s a Merril movie. 😉 Here’s the trailer.
