wet petals on the sidewalk (2021)
Perusal Score
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General Information
Text: A Morning Walk by Baylina Pu (2020)
Commissioner: Rozime Lindsey
Written: July 2021
Duration: ca. 3.5’
Instrumentation: baritone + pf
Program Note
Text
A Morning Walk
by Baylina Pu
You become what you used
to dread:
wet petals on the sidewalk.
These are unmemorable days,
silenced further by heavy
muttering sky, the daffodils
already shriveling.
I could exchange it
for any other afternoon,
the same old rivalries
of dust and pollen spreading
over car hoods,
the same thoughts
settling in tired patterns
along the abandoned avenues
of the brain.
Except, daily,
I am surprised by the same things:
every bit of green where it looks foreign.
The stillness in a bird as I walk closer,
its posture resolute, mine hunched over—
I wish I had a robin’s
bravery for life.
a note from the librettist:
This poem surfaced from one of those muggy, desaturated spring mornings where the whole world turns static and nothing really feels real, almost like you’re stuck in a time loop. But invariably, every so often, you notice some unflinching persistence of life—like a bird hidden in the grass—and you’re reminded of the raw, triumphant spontaneity of nature, the simple courage of existence. I wrote this poem in the headspace of an observer of such an event.
a note from the composer:
This piece is about the light felt in small moments of grace when everything else is tired, dull, and dark. This piece works musically with the deep contrast of the dread and despair that can be brought about by endless repetition and stasis, and the pure joy that can be found in trivial parts of our world when one looks just the right way. As we societally are exiting the COVID-19 pandemic, this piece is a reminder that the beauty we see now is still present even in the darkest of times.