*your angel here*

I could go on at length about music and how it influences me, and how Music Is Subjective, so how can we use music as a prompt for poetry anyway? But that would be boring, so I won't.

Briefly, then. Sometimes, I write about how experiencing live music feels, like this poem I wrote after seeing Dick Dale perform live. I've written about how listening to particular music makes me feel, like this recent poem. Mostly, though, my thoughts fly off while listening, as I'm sure yours do, inspiring poetry.

One of my favorite bands of all time is They Might Be Giants. Smart and clever, poetic and wonderful, their music has influenced me for many years and has directly impacted my writing. I can attribute a number of my poems to having been inspired by lyrics and songs from TMBG, so my challenge is for you to do the same.

The song She's An Angel by They Might Be Giants has inspired at least two poems from me, so far:

 roswell

maybe you were sent
to remind me of my belly
full of bold assertions
or perhaps you are meant
to paint my dreams
such that i remember what i am
you are part of what lies
beyond the here
and now i've found a circle
maybe the aliens burnt you in the dirt
fueling you with enough evidence
that i believe you.

 -- and --

  following an angel

fitful sleep awaited me

tossing and turning

as an angel voice

implored me to spread

my wings

and reach

all the way

across the sky

which this morning

is full of clouds and rain

but when i peeked outside

i could see a bit of brown

where all that white had been

and that is good

as it portends the green

to come

and what am i to do

with you?

yes, sure as spring

i can even taste you now

good morning.

The song is so interesting, clever and layered. Your challenge is to listen to this song (and here are the lyrics in case it is difficult to decipher them in this live recording), and to write a poem inspired by the ideas within:




I promise to write another poem inspired by this song, too. Enjoy!