Uncertainty of Heart
Amid most fond expressions of affection, endless love,
Devotion and determination to be stewards of
These sentiments and feelings, is that little nagging voice
That tells us it would not be so if we had any choice,
Because we are perfidious by nature, roaming, weak,
And fearful of commitment to degrees we cannot speak,
And paranoid, on top of it, that others are the same,
And so we speak our pretty vows and play our little game,
Attempting to convince ourselves as much as other folk
That our desires and adoration aren’t some flimsy joke—
The shocking Surprise Ending to this tale is that at death,
Some of us finally realize upon our final breath
That all of it was true, and that our hearts were so inclined;
Too bad we take so long, we fools, to see that we have lived as blind.
Laudate
In a room with bright light and bright sound
It’s as though all the birds in the wide world have set
Their hearts on singing out the highest praise
Of sun and stars and moon, of life and light and love,
And of being wingèd things up in the broad green roof
Of the springtime world–and yet this song,
Sung in truth by mortals mere, by trebles in
The spring of their own lives, can only hint
At the brilliant sweetness of having been born to sing.
Art-Colored Glasses 
Oh kathryn, I needed Laudate this morning! Some brilliant sweetness! c
Sung in honor of a Sunday birthday girl, of course!
Actually, you might like to hear the incredible piece that was being rehearsed when I wrote this; I was transported. It’s posted on YouTube so I can share it with you, though it’s a true rarity–it was performed at the Boston Early Music Festival last June by some of Richard’s University of North Texas Collegium singers from a UNT colleague’s new edition of a virtually unknown piece of early Italian music (Agostino Steffani) written for 8 treble voices, sung one on a part. Exquisite! The sound quality of the recording posted is modest, of course, as they did all of the sound engineering on the fly for the festival, but you can get a sense of its beauty in any case.
I have to politely barge in on your conversation… but these women’s voices are truly so beautiful.. the harmony.. they are just like the singing birds in your poem. (little cellists are having fun too). Isn’t it incredible the talent in our world.. and your poems are a part of this.. Beautiful writing, I love the Uncertainty of Heart, it strikes a familiar chord…
Oh, I’m so delighted that you enjoyed the link, Smidge! And I’m glad you liked the poems too, of course. 🙂
(PS–one of the alto parts is sung by a man. And yes, the cellists got to do some fun stuff in this one.)
This is exquisite.
I have to agree–it’s just so sweet! So cheering!
Two wonderful poems Kathryn, although my favourite is “Uncertainty of Heart”…
I suspect there are few of us that don’t feel something of that kind of uncertainty and frustration with it at *some* point in life. 🙂 Thanks for reading!
You have a way of dicing and splicing words to produce perfect poetry. I love the sentiments particularly in Uncertainty of the Heart.
So kind of you, my dear; though I’ll never hit Perfect, I am quite content, nay, elated, when the poems touch anyone else. 🙂
Beautiful! I love the Laudate! It is perfect in every way 🙂
I guess I have to reiterate what I said to our friend Ms. Attitude (above)–and I do thank you for your generous comment, too! 🙂
Brava, Darling!
Who could fail to be inspired by such lovely young voices?
Exactly. Our “birds” did beautifully. Thanks for the cheer!
Again, a great post but this time you included a beautiful link, as well. I’m with Smidge, these young voices remind me of the morning chorus of birdsong. Probably my least favorite part of Winter is that there is no such symphony to welcome the Sun — and if ever the Sun could use the encouragement, it would be on a blustery January morning..
Thank you, John. Yes, even here in the semi-South we get fewer of the songbirds keeping us company when the cold (relatively speaking, of course!) finally arrives. Lucky for me that I have these rich musical resources around me to help make up the difference!
Uncertainty of Heart is amazing and I do think many individuals fight with what they think they want and what they truly need.
We’re awfully good at perpetuating that struggle, aren’t we all!
Beautiful and wise. Thanks so much, Kathryn.
Thank you, sweet Desi!
Love the Laudate, it gives me that uplifting spirit
The song is so full of dazzling light that I think it captures the spirit of the text as well as any version I’ve ever heard. I couldn’t help but feel joyful when I listened to them singing it.