Strains of Billie

It’s a quarter past three on a Sunday morning. 
Darkness sits heavy as a blanket.
It’s waiting for first light to seep through night and gently lift it.
Strains of Billie Holiday curl into a hug of raspberry tea steam from my favourite mug.
The cats have been fed and husband is tucked up in bed.
In my solitude she haunts me.
Just Billie and me, sipping tea, chewing toast and poetry. 

Kim M. Russell, 13th June 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g97Us91PFw4

This week at the dVerse Poets Pub our host for Poetics is Lisa with musical muses and musical inspiration. She reminds us of how music can “tell a story wordlessly, which allows the listener to feel without the impingement of the boxes of words” and also wonders “how many have been inspired to write poetry because of music?” She has given us some examples of poems by Rudy Francisco, Langston Hughes, Bill Holm and Amy Lowell, to inspire us to choose a musical artist, song, or genre of music and write a poem.

I have resurrected, reworked and given a new title to an old poem from October 2019.

26 thoughts on “Strains of Billie”

  4. Most excellent, Kim, especially listening to Billie’s song while reading. Love the wordplay in, “Strains of Billie Holiday curl into a hug of raspberry tea steam from my favourite mug.” and that last line emanates with energy.

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  7. Billie Holiday always sounds so lonely to me. Her voice oozes tragedy. I need to be feeling strong to listen to her.
    I like that ‘chewing toast and poetry’ it has a sense of something tough and raw that doesn’t go down without a struggle.

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  10. Blues that comfort the ache perched between exuberance and destruction — that’s Billie for sure. A lot of haunting here in this insomniac’s late reflection. (Tea is so much easier on those thoughts than whiskey.)

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