From Palimpsest to Glory: The Music of Florence Price
In Ouachita's tales, where pine needles sigh.
I trace the mountains' ancient, weathered crown.
Silvered river forgotten secrets float by
And fills my heart, a sonorous chamber now.
A flame ignites, dispelling shadows deep,
A beacon for lost souls on twilight's rim.
Forgotten songs within my spirit leap,
A lullaby for weary hearts, I hymn.
Florence,
Our palimpsest where
sun-kissed tones reside.
Her heart brimming with
melody's themes.
Her dreams suddenly, wonderfully
take flight
on notes both fierce and wide.
Her life is like a shooting star of strength
etched upon the sky is her beautiful face.
Her memories always linger, just like
That clinging grapevine.
A constant conflicting notes of
a much, much harsher time.
Traversing Bach's majestic score, I learn
the language of ascending keys. A path unfurled.
My mother's voice an oboe's seraphic burn, Bridges
earth and sky, a beacon in the world. With anthems
rising, praise songs upon the air.
I find my voice, for it is a note entwined in
deeper prayer.
To the halls of Boston, where music's
spirit thrives. My passion guides me -
Oh,’ a relentless tide.
I am a woman hued
where marble coldly strives.
I etch my name…
where prejudice once vied.
My gift, my voice / ascends beneath
the vaulted dome.
A symphony unveiled, a soul
to call my own.
Silence descends
a weight upon my soul.
Unplayed notes quiver, a stifled
mournful sound.
But spirit unbroken, I reach
for a new goal.
African rhythms course – Lay a
fertile ground.
Their ongoing rebel beat defies
the stifling hush
A variegated web – come where
sorrow and joy rush.
The blues, is just a weeping willow's
mournful sigh.
Knitted with laughter - a timeless
promising spread.
Of cotton fields and trains that
onward fly.
Of love's embrace, and hearts
both lost and bred.
Folk melodies, a future
yet unseen.
A raven, wise and strong, on
hope's dark wings convene.
Then dawns a day, where
victory takes flight.
My music soars, bathed
in a most resplendent light.
The Wanamaker prize, a
long-awaited right.
The first of all, her name
written in luminous glory.
Across the land, on wings
of melody's band
My music dances, accepted
by a grateful hand.
There were many shattered barriers, a pathway
carved with care.
For dreamers yet to come
a legacy I must share.
Though stories shift, the spirit’s truth lingers there.
A whispered promise, on a soulful, hopeful air.
In every soaring note
her essence majestically takes its flight.
Her amazing testament to unblemished courage
bathed in hope's warm and eternal light.
So let my music freely flow, a symphony
unbound.
A song for dreamers, where hope's sweet notes resound.
With resilience as my shield, and passion as my guide.
The world's a stage, where all our voices confide.
This is her story in music language.
Florence Price, Her voice,
Her heart,
Her amazing spirit to behold.
May her music linger
While listening to her radiant refrain.
The memory of her courage and resilience
an everlasting and glorious strain.
Copyright ©
Daniel Henry Rodgers
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