Contributor Series 9: If Men Had Ears
The Waiting Songs
By Rae Spencer
When my music, at last, is right
The page will burst into flame
And flicking tongues of fire
Will sing along the ink
In extinct languages
Meaningless phrases
Clamor in the pulp
Until kindled in this fire
Consumed into the demon chords
Of things I should have said
The histories I never spoke
Will finally find the voice
For which my tongue
Was inadequate
Its flesh too weak for wisdom
Or the fiery truths I found
In recorded phoenix song
Such beauty stoked in other bones
Of joys I could never own
And sorrows borne by other souls
If my music is ever right
My page will curl to ember
The words will turn to ash
And sing their timeless meaning
Through someone else’s night
Rae Spencer’s most recent poem to appear here was Ossuary, published in December 2010 as part of Contributor Series 7: The Confessional Diary of Bone.
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My page will curl to ember.
The entire last stanza brings hope and the pyre, if we can ever find a way to give of ourselves completely…
I relate to your fabulous poem, Rae. It’s one of my favorites of all the wonderful words you’ve written. And what would we do without the gifts you so graciously share? Love this! Thank you.
Stunning. These words made me tearfully grateful for your talent.
If my music is ever right
My page will curl to ember
The words will turn to ash
And sing their timeless meaning
Rae, my voice is an echo in the crowd.
This one resonated for me, Rae.
“things I should have said”
“histories I never spoke”
Thanks for saying it all just right–Kay