Spirits Within the Mist | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Yes, I write long rants about what is wrong, that which is obviously so, and how folks can initiate the process to fix stuff if they truly care; however, a better known truth is that I take a bunch of pictures - many yet to be published. An even less known truth is that I write poetry on occasion ... when the mood strikes me, and it strikes me often enough, I reckon.

    An even wilder truth is that ever since my musical son-in-law had my guitar restrung and bought me a tuning device a few months ago, I am playing my guitar, and making some deep inroads; learning a few simple songs, and since I can write (without too much of a struggle), aiming to write my own; collaborating with my musical superior - Dustin.

    I have always loved music; now, I intend to make it. You know, there is a good poem at the heart of every great ballad.

The Pamlico River on a misty December morning: Above.    The trestle over the Pamlico shrouded in that same mist: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage     Click image to expand.

Spirits Within the Mist

Version I (changes are always inevitable)             lyrics by Stan Deatherage    melody is a work in process by Stan Deatherage
The spirits draft within a mist
O'er the river's plane.
Calm, silent, they fetch new moments in time;
Fly wide before the wind and rain.

The dark beard of life, a gathering cloud;
Due east in means to roam.
It licks of lightning, in thunderous blasts,
And forebodes an ominous tome.

I've heard it told, a tale so bold,
A kindly spirit - keen and wise;
Roaring wild within, o'er that gentle mist,
Where souls are loosed to rise.

And gathered them well to journey abroad
Along the ethereal plane.
Spent well in life, as humbled in death;
Misty spirits travel its train.

And where they go, no one truly knows;
A truth in death so revealed.
What remains in death, as lost in life;
Broken dreams and a heavenly field.

A field of green and a gentle breeze,
Where goodness is all that reins.
Dreams reborn, well within that river's mist,
Where love's truth abides, and sustains ... and sustains

And held fast, for awhile, in that last refrain;
Life's moment eclipsed by time.
It's lost, it's gained, in a river of rain,
And grace shall show the way.
                 - Stan Deatherage, December 27, 2015

The Pamlico River after the storm, in December, at sunset: Below.     photo by Stan Deatherage     Click image to expand.

The Song Version Wrought, beginning June 24, 2017

    On 062417, I felt competent enough, with just a bit of inspiration, to write a rather long intro to this poem to begin its transformation into a melody, or a dirge. The initial chords for this overwrought into should produce some or most of the notes I might need to write the melody, and then revamp the lyrics as needed.

    The following chords to the intro in sequence are: Fadd9, Cmaj7, Em7, A7sus4, Am7, Dm7, G7, C, Em7, A7sus4, Am7, F, G, Am, Fadd9, Cmaj7, Am, Em, G, Am

The spirits draft within a mist
O'er the river's plane.
Calm, silent, they fetch new moments in time;
Fly wide before the wind and rain.

The dark beard of life, a gathering cloud;
Due east in means to roam.
It licks of lightning, in thunderous blasts,
And forebodes an ominous tome.

I've heard it told, a tale so bold,
A kindly spirit - keen and wise;
Roaring wild within, o'er that gentle mist,
Where souls are loosed to rise.

And gathered them well to journey abroad
Along the ethereal plane.
Spent well in life, as humbled in death;
Misty spirits travel its train.

And where they go, no one truly knows;
A truth in death so revealed.
What remains in death, as lost in life;
Broken dreams and a heavenly field.

A field of green and a gentle breeze,
Where goodness is all that reins.
Dreams reborn, well within that river's mist,
Where love's truth abides, and sustains ... and sustains

And held fast, for awhile, in that last refrain;
Life's moment eclipsed by time.
It's lost, it's gained, in a river of rain,
And grace shall show the way.