The Wild Geese
I am a big fan of poet Wendell Berry and I have set several f his poems. His words feel good in your mouth as you say or sing them aloud, and they warm your heart as they settle in your mind. My setting of his poem, "The Wild Geese" is one of my "favorite children." - Joan Szymko
"Joan's music beautifully captures the hope, promise, and contentment of being here and having what we need and want. The solo violin part is included in the choral score and requires an accomplished player." - www.lorenz.com
Horseback on Sunday morning,
harvest over, we taste persimmon
and wild grape, sharp sweet
of summer's end. In time's maze
over fall fields, we name names
that went west from here, names
that rest on graves. We open
a persimmon seed to find the tree
that stands in promise,
pale, in the seed's marrow.
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear,
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.
I am a big fan of poet Wendell Berry and I have set several f his poems. His words feel good in your mouth as you say or sing them aloud, and they warm your heart as they settle in your mind. My setting of his poem, "The Wild Geese" is one of my "favorite children." - Joan Szymko
"Joan's music beautifully captures the hope, promise, and contentment of being here and having what we need and want. The solo violin part is included in the choral score and requires an accomplished player." - www.lorenz.com