Monday, January 12, 2015

Create52: #2 -- Back Out / Out Back


So this is January 12th -- the date of the scheduled second entry in my Create52 weekly blogging event. I hope the new year is treating you well so far, and I thank you very much for taking the time to stop by my blog,

Let's get right to today's offering:


Back Out

Since I started last week's Create52 post with a confession, how about I do it again:

I have to admit that in the past, I might have backed out of something like this by now. I mean, my intentions are great, and this is something I really want to do, but there are still 51 more entries to make! And it takes a lot of time and commitment to regularly create new things for this blog.

Yes, there have been times where, in spite of my best intentions, I might not have stuck with it.

But you know what? This time I am.

I'm still creating new things and not backing out. Instead, I'm getting back out here with more to share. And I confess I'm feeling pretty good about that.


Back in the Outback

Today, the first thing I want to offer you is a musical piece. It's a wikiloops jam I call "Back in the Outback."

I took a very cool Australian-themed track made by wikiloops user, "jamlady," looped it twice to make it longer, added bass, and then laid down three tracks of guitar on it -- one spacy, distorted, and full of delay; one a chiming rythym; and the last one a lead that one wikiloops commenter said was something between Mark Knopfler and David Gilmour.

I think I would probably have to agree -- I guess I can wear my influences pretty blatantly at times. :)

This might not be your normal verse-verse-chorus kind of song, but I hope you still like it.  Take a listen and see what you think,

You can click on the image, my "StratoRaptor" icon, or HERE to check it out.


Out Back

And for a bonus offering for this Create52, I'm serving up another small sample of my writing -- a new piece of poetry I created especially for this blog post.  I took the phrase, "out back," and let my imagination wander, and this is what I came up with.

It's a bit of free verse.  There is no particular rhyme scheme, although there are a lot of rhymes in it. I hope you like it -- it's a bit different from my normal writing:

======

Out Back

Out back, I hear the children play;

The swings swoop and sway, their chains creaking

amid the laughter, and young voices shrieking

with delight.

Chasing after each other, they frolic in a choir

of giggles and whoops as they swing ever higher;

A timeless sound.  I hear it every day, unless it rains,

until the quiet of the night.



Out back, I hear a few muffled clinks

from a swing, hanging by the links of its broken, rusty chain.

No laughing refrain – the choir shall not sing again;

not here any more.

The swings are banging, un-ridden in the wind.

A gusty blast, and one thinks of voices past,

of laughter I no longer hear. At the end, I remain here,

wishing for before.

======


Thank you so much for visiting, listening, and reading! See you next week for another Create52 entry!


22 comments:

  1. I could definitely hear the Gilmour influence. That's not a bad thing though.
    Your writing piece is very sad.

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    1. Thanks Alex! I admit I'm a Gilmour fan -- I'm never going to be a lightning-fast shredder, and I like the way Gilmour can get so much power and emotion out of just a few notes. :)

      And I think the poem's a bit sad, too. It was one of those things that just kind of burst out of me, and you gotta go where the muse takes you.

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  2. The music was cool, CHRIS! And, yeah, I can hear a little Knopfler and Gilmour in there, too. Not bad influences, man! I like both of those guys A LOT.

    The poem was really good also. Maybe you should have saved one of these for Week 50. Tossing off two works in one post indicates you're pretty confident you will make it through all 52. Confidence is good (I used to have some myself).

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. Thank you very much StMc!

      I don't know if I'm confident that I can make it through all 52, but I'm confident I can make it through the next one, and if I can keep that going, that's all it takes. :)

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  3. I enjoyed the poem a lot, even though it was sad. I really need to get back into poetry writing. I think it's been a few years since I've even tried.

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    1. Thank you Sarah!

      Poetry is not anywhere close to my normal genre -- I have no clue what I'm doing. My rhyming things tend to be much more like Dr. Seuss than TS Elliot or something. :)

      But once in a while I'll get an urge, and with "Create52" pushing me to be creative, I'll go with whatever comes out. And I'm very glad you enjoyed it!

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  4. You are a man of many talents. Music and poetry and flash fiction. I'm impressed.

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    1. Well, thank you very much Joanne! That means a lot to me. :)

      I'm pleased you enjoyed it!

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  5. I listened to the music this morning while still in bed and really enjoyed it. I am ever impressed with your talents.

    The poem was very interesting. I'm not very good at poetry, so I don't give much of a critique, but I do know what I like and I liked it. It had a melancholy feel to it, sort of like fall. Does that make sense? Maybe only to me, but that's what I felt; you know fall, the empty playground with the echos of summer lingering.

    I'll be back next week, so you had better keep 'em coming.

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    1. I really, really appreciate that, FAE!

      I'm not very good at poetry, either, I don't think. I'm too impatient for one thing. I write and move on, but the good poets probably take a lot of time to hone each and every syllable to a razor-sharp edge. But I liked this -- I enjoyed the ambiguity as to why the narrator no longer had the kids there.

      And you're very welcome to come back each and EVERY Monday! I'm very pleased that you want to!

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  6. Awesome piece! (Both the music and the poem.) You know, I remember the days of trying to write music and books. I've backed off from music in the last 3 years in favor of publishing, but I totally miss it. It's so fulfilling to hear your creations pouring out of a speaker.

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    1. Thanks, Crystal! I'm grateful for your very kind words.

      And of course you've backed off, what with all your writing, publishing, procreating, and reading a HUNDRED books in 2014!!!! You still amaze me with all you do.

      But someday -- when your life-pace slows a bit -- I'd LOVE to hear some of your music!

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  7. Very cool piece of musical.

    I think the poem will strike a cord for any empty-nester. It did for me.

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  8. This is really cool, Chris. Just yesterday, my sister called to talk about a challenging situation and I told her to just take a step back, check with herself and then if all systems were go, to just commit.

    That's the word for 2015, right there. :)

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    1. Thank you, Suze! I've striving to stay committed. :)

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  9. I can't imagine you backing out of your mission. Definitely here those guitar influences. Another nice piece of music.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Oh, I can imagine it...;)

      But I ain't doing it.

      Thank you very much, Lee!

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  10. I didn't listen to the musical piece. I'm so behind on blogging and so little time to devote to it today. But I loved your poem. It's a wonderful reminder to always enjoy the moment. It shall not pass this way again.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words about my poem, Robin! I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

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Don't be shy -- feel free to comment. I really appreciate your thoughts.