Pen and Ink, Musical Version

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I wrote and published this poem last year, but Christine Anfossie has set it to music and if you click the link below, you can hear her singing it.

 

Pen and Ink

The pen that stands, clipped and inert
in the pocket of your shirt
has no power on its own
so long as it is left alone,
but once held upright in your grip,
free of cap and free of clip,
it forms a partnership of sorts
that spews out pithy, smart retorts.

It snaps the present into line
with words that easily combine
in sentences that, once unfurled,
have the power to change the world.
I ask you, who would ever think
that two joined objects—pen and ink—
could form a perfect synergy
to spew out jokes or tragedy?

Guided by a hand like yours,
a pen can open many doors.
A simple point, an ink-trailed line,
could link your heart with one like mine.
Unclip it now. Uncap its point.
Let ink your paper now anoint.
Let words turn somersaults and caper.
Let words flow from your heart to paper.

Let ink flow rampant from its cage
to dance across the naked page.
No telling what it might report
as words go wild and cavort.
“I” and “love” and “you” might do
a sort of line-dance or soft-shoe.
Words just might and words just may
leak out and give your heart away.

Words by Judy Dykstra-Brown, Music and Vocals by Christine Anfossie.

10 thoughts on “Pen and Ink, Musical Version”

          1. slmret's avatarslmret

            Could be — there are 2 types of hearing loss: a) simply don’t hear, and b) hear but can’t translate what is heard to the words that are said. The second is more difficult to deal with, and hearing aids don’t really help. Worth getting tested, though.

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