Jersey Rain
Now near the end of the middle stretch of road
What have I learned? Some earthly wiles. An art.
That often I cannot tell good fortune from bad,
That once had seemed so easy to tell apart.
What have I learned? Some earthly wiles. An art.
That often I cannot tell good fortune from bad,
That once had seemed so easy to tell apart.
The source of art and woe aslant in wind
Dissolves or nourishes everything it touches.
What roadbank gullies and ruts it doesn't mend
It carves the deeper, boiling tawny in ditches.
Dissolves or nourishes everything it touches.
What roadbank gullies and ruts it doesn't mend
It carves the deeper, boiling tawny in ditches.
It spends itself regardless into the ocean.
It stains and scours and makes things dark or bright:
Sweat of the moon, a shroud of benediction,
The chilly liquefaction of day to night,
It stains and scours and makes things dark or bright:
Sweat of the moon, a shroud of benediction,
The chilly liquefaction of day to night,
The Jersey rain, my rain, soaks all as one:
It smites Metuchen, Rahway, Saddle River,
Fair Haven, Newark, Little Silver, Bayonne.
I feel it churning even in fair weather
It smites Metuchen, Rahway, Saddle River,
Fair Haven, Newark, Little Silver, Bayonne.
I feel it churning even in fair weather
To craze distinction, dry the same as wet.
In ripples of heat the August drought still feeds
Vapors in the sky that swell to smite the state --
The Jersey rain, my rain, in streams and beads
In ripples of heat the August drought still feeds
Vapors in the sky that swell to smite the state --
The Jersey rain, my rain, in streams and beads
Of indissoluble grudge and aspiration:
Original milk, replenisher of grief,
Descending destroyer, arrowed source of passion,
Silver and black, executioner, font of life.
Original milk, replenisher of grief,
Descending destroyer, arrowed source of passion,
Silver and black, executioner, font of life.
On May 5, 2010, David Daniel put together Robert and Bruce for a conversation with Wesley Stace to explore the relationship between poetry and music and the "popular" and "literary" arts in general. What followed was a wonderful conversation and collaboration between two great artists, born in the same hospital a decade apart, who had never met until an hour before the show. In this clip, they perform "Jersey Rain" and "Promised Land" together. There were about 350 students and faculty in the audience, and both Robert and Bruce donated their time because, well, it was a really good idea. I had that idea three years before, when I put together the first WAMFEST: The Words and Music Festival with the idea of breaking down the barriers between the arts of the people and the arts of the academy in order to provide a model for my students in the creative writing program at FDU. Since then, I've produced over thirty performances along those lines. With a special thanks to Barbara Carr and Jan Stabile at Jon Landau Management, Inc. for their support and permission.
pTV--Poetry TV--is devoted to presenting collaborative work by poets, writers, songwriters, and visual and performing artists. Please subscribe. The rest of this hour and a half show along with many others will be released periodically. For more information, please contact David Daniel at fortheloveofitall@gmail.com.
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