Being Poemed

For some reason, what emerged in my imagination from the bouncy, squidgy track that Gorwel initially recorded was a scene in a field with a small ‘Taoman’ doing Tai Chi. I imagined his sequence, knowing just a little about one or two of the forms, but mostly, it was his utter involvement in the flow of movement, set in nature, that held me, the fluid motion, meditation in action, poise coupled with strength, a union of movement with stillness like music’s relationship with silence. You can see umpteen examples of Tai Chi on YouTube – I find it utterly engaging. The forms have poetic names like ‘Part the Wild Horse’s Mane’, ‘White Crane Spreads Its Wings’, ‘Strum the Lute’ and ‘Wave Hands Like Clouds’. The finished track became all the more ‘dronetastic’ after Cass added crwth and Pete drums.

Lyrics
One little man in a clover field
He’s practising the various ways to yield.
He squats like a frog and flies like a crane,
Makes his hands like cloud and tiger flame.
He’s challenged to place his life into words
When silence is the best thing he’s ever heard.
So he’s taking time in the clover zone
Murmuring water over stone.

You can listen to ‘Being Poemed’ here: https://fionagorwelowen.bandcamp.com/track/being-poemed