TEXT BY BETH ROBERTS
A pair of airs
For Summer, from Winter
A little bird said
you’re thinking of me.
I get wild with torture,
poor chickadee.
Should I warm to a halo
or an angel in the snow?
Summertime, I’m afraid
I don’t remember how.
Here is a snowflake
that looks like a lover
swaying in shallows
by the cliff he went over.
*
For Winter, from Summer
My days are so long, Jack.
I’ll meet anywhere you name.
Meet me in the longest shadow,
I won’t tell anyone you came.
I look for you in dark looks
where crystal eyes could be.
I look for you where love left
and leaves follow me.
I received your snowflake!
It looks like clover turning
in complicated, implicated,
icy rapids, and I’m burning.
Program Note:
A pair of airs was commissioned by Chamber Music Quad Cities and dedicated to the premiere performers Lily Arbisser and Thomas Sauer.
Duration: 6 minutes
Date: 2022