Daniel Henry Rodgers Poet Ballad

Notes About The Poem

 

My poem reflects fifty years of music, memory, and craftsmanship
an intimate journey between me a musician and my aging guitar.
Rooted in autumnal reflection and the natural textures of
rosewood, cedar, and mahogany,
exploring how sound, time, and devotion
shape the songs we carry through life.

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"A guitar ages the way a companion does
faithfully without complaint
every autumn leaves a note in the grain
a place even wrong notes call home"

- Poet

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Fifty Autumns Sealed in Indian Rosewood

You'll know I'm near
when western cedar scents the air

On the strings of blarney

We'll walk the ebony frets
against the gathering gloam

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood

Since seventy-six
the calluses have set

Along the strings of blarney

We strike the open chord
that fills the room

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood

We slide our fingers
down the weathered neck

Through the strings of blarney

The mahogany has mellowed
where our hands have wept

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood

I never claimed
the tuning stayed precise

We swapped strings
to keep the pitch

The neck needs a patient hand

or we leave it be
and play on

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood

I know the notes
were never wholly true

In the strings of blarney

Some rang clear
others fell flat

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood

There were songs
we never learned to play

A verse or two
we never got right

We put them away
and learned another tune

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood

And if you hear
this old guitar someday

On the strings of blarney

You may hear a wrong note
and know it was ours

Fifty autumns
sealed in Indian Rosewood


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Paula Goldsmith September 15, 2026 at 12:41 PM Your "Fifty Autumns Sealed in Indian Rosewood" is a wonderful write/story with a great picture/quote. Love This... Hope you have Fifty more autumns with your friend the guitar. More songs/music to carry you through life. Have a fun day writing away.......... Daniel Henry Rodgers September 15, 2026 at 3:49 PM Dear Paula, my dear friend, I always love reading your notes for each of my poems, and I really love reading your poems. Blessings, Daniel

Ilene Bauer September 15, 2026 at 11:56 AM a touching tribute to your guitar, daniel! i hope you have many more years of making music together... Daniel Henry Rodgers September 15, 2026 at 3:48 PM Dear Ilene, I learned to play in the Army, stationed in Germany in 1976-78. I never put it down for more than a couple of days, and it has filled many a moment over those 50 years. I am not teaching my granddaughters that are 3, 4, 6 years old ukulele which I consider the predisessor to the guitar, I hope that I too am playing many decades to come. Blessings, Daniel,

Dennis Spilchuk September 15, 2026 at 10:35 AM I enjoyed reading your poem. Guitars age beautifully. Daniel Henry Rodgers September 15, 2026 at 3:43 PM Hello Dennis, thank you, my friend. I appreciate your note. Blessings, Daniel