Two weeks ago I got to go back to Philadelphia on the invitation of Clay Corley, host of Spotlight on Jazz and Poetry, for a Kaleidoscope of Sound featuring a group of fantastic poets and musicians. Clay had a very special request for me. On the CD collaboration that I did with poet Norbert Krapf five years ago, we included a pairing of his poem Sisters with my song The Third Passenger. Both pieces were the result of experiences with miscarriage and still birth – very common occurrences when nature takes care of a problem, but heart breaking for those involved and somewhat of a taboo in our society. Clay asked me to perform the song “The Third Passenger” for the show and it became a very emotional moment and bonding with the audience. I didn’t have any recordings along with me and of course everyone was asking for the song afterwards. Hence I made a short movie with the recording celebrating the two healthy and happy children that were given to us after our initial experience. Here it is:
And here is Norbert’s beautiful poem that inspired our collaboration – Imagine – Indiana in Music and Words
Sisters
My first sister
was born without
ever drawing a
breath. I heard
my mother cry
and my grandmother
scold her upstairs.
When my second sister
began to cry,
my mother breathed
a lot easier. My
grandmother smiled.
The dolls we kept
clapped their hands.