PAD Day 24: Isolation and Connection

 Today's prompts from Writers Digest and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "time of day" poem, and (2) "write a poem that involves people making music together, and that references – with a lyric or line – a song or poem that is important to you."

I wasn't sure exactly how to combine these prompts today, so  for now I'm just going with the NaPoWriMo prompt. One of the things that most impressed me during the COVID lockdowns in 2020-2021 is how resourceful musicians and performers were to try to get together virtually and perform as a group, particuarly the "Zoom choirs," if you will, that were all over YouTube and other platforms during that time. The rock band Elbow did a series of live performances of their most requested songs that they collectively called "Elbowrooms," and one of those performances that involved a choir particularly moved me. It's also arguably my favorite song of theirs, called "Lippy Kids." Here's my account of seeing it for the first time. And here's the link to the video if you would like to watch it: https://youtu.be/JTKmImtSSKY?si=0f2Vr3StaDe_I7N9

COVID Choir, May 2020
 
The computer screen is split into quarters—
Elbow’s front man Garvey on the upper left,
his guitar, bass and keyboard guys,
each in a separate studio,
filling out the other segments.
The keyboardist starts a single note ostinato
that lays a foundation for the song.

The guitarists join in, and Garvey

whistles an intro, then sings,
Lippy kids on the corner again,
Settling like crows….

Gradually the quartet pulls back,
shrinks into the middle,
and reveals a frame around them,
twenty-two young adult faces,
alumni of the Hallé Youth Choir,
each in their own square of the world,
who, through some synchronous magic,
hum the wordless chorus in unison:
Mmm, mmm, mmm
Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm….
And Guy Garvey sings over them,
You were a freshly painted angel,
Walking on walls….
Build a rocket, boys,
Build a rocket, boys!
 
These human islands connect
like a vocal archipelago,
and their voices hum like a colony of bees,
and I’m right here humming along with them
from my own little square of the world,
and the blonde girl in the upper left
of the screen seems to be crying,
and I’m not sure if it’s loneliness
or just the beauty of the song,
but I’m crying right along with her.