Que Sera

I wanted to grow up like Doris Day
just walking in the rain with Johnny Ray –
whatever will be will be.

My dad was the great pretender and, for me,
there was only you, Mum, singing to Sinatra and Nat ‘King’ Cole,
loving me as though there were no tomorrow.

Granddad had the mellow voice of Bing
and you, as pretty as Grace Kelly, could really sing.
Memories are made of this.

But that’s all that’s left when you lose the one you love,
strains of the happy whistler blowing on the wayward wind.
I promise, if I could have you back, I ain’t misbehavin’.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics Oldies But Goodies

Lillian is hosting dVerse one more time before she’s off on a transAtlantic cruise and then cruising through the Norwegian Fjords, Ireland and Iceland.

Lillian’s reminds us that she loves music, tap dancing, and all things positive.  She’s not in retirement but rejuvenatement! She has also confessed that, like many of us, she’s a Baby Boomer, a child of the 50s, who grew up listening to music on a radio and an old-fashioned record-player. Which is why she wants us to find the top songs from the year in which we were born or from the years we were 5 – 10 years old, then pick one and weave the words from the title into our poems.

I got a bit carried away on this one and included the following song titles from 1956 and a little beyond (my Mum loved Frank Sinatra, Nat ‘King’ Cole and Johnnie Ray; she also loved Harry Belafonte but I couldn’t find him in the charts for 1956):

Doris Day, ‘Whatever Will Be (Que Sera)’
Johnnie Ray, ‘Walking in the Rain’
The Platters, ‘The Great Pretender’/’Only You’
Nat ‘King’ Cole, ‘Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow’
Dean Martin, ‘Memories Are Made of This’
David Whitfield & Mantovani & his Orchestra, ‘When You Lose The One You Love’
Don Robertson, ‘The Happy Whistler’
Gogi Grant, ‘The Wayward Wind’
Johnnie Ray, ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’ 

 

 

42 thoughts on “Que Sera”

  1. Oh my GOSH!!!!! I loved listening and watching Doris Day here….and I remember all these songs! This is definitely the stuff that memories are made of. I LOVE your post!!! Thank you thank you thank you!

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  2. Love the songs in the poems Kim ~ My parents would play these songs too from Nat Cole to Doris Day!

    This part twinges a bit of sadness but I love it anyway:

    But that’s all that’s left when you lose the one you love,
    strains of the happy whistler blowing on the wayward wind.
    I promise, if I could have you back, I ain’t misbehavin’.

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    1. That sadness was there as I wrote the poem, Grace, thinking of Mum, Dad and my grandparents. nobody prepares you for getting older and losing people from your life.

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  6. Wow, you blew the socks off the prompt–a delicious plethora of titles–catapulting me down memory lane. You really soared with this one; smile.

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    1. Than k you, Paul! I didn’t much of a chance to read last night – we had the last online chat with The Poetry School and then I was completely shattered – two hours of virtual conversation is a killer!

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  10. I remember all these songs as they were often played in the house and on the radio in my younger years. A beautiful take on the prompt Kim, I love how you have incorporated several songs into your poem.

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  11. I remember Que Sera Sera from the movie, “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Doris Day and James Stewart and the little boy did a bang up job adding great drama to the song. All of them were really great tunes. I’ll think of that one whenever the wayward wind hits me, thanks

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  17. Doris was an excellent role model besides a great actress and singer; I often wish my grandchildren could hear all the songs we grew up with…I try to share them if I can. Your poem shows it’s easy to get carried away on this prompt!

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