Another Writing Exercise

Songs are the soundtrack of our lives. Over the years, songs come and go and define a particular moment in time. A fragment of song may capture a sentiment we held true at the time we heard it. And songs can bring back stories from the past, along with the emotions associated with it.

Today I went back to where I left off in the book “Writing the Natural Way” by Gabriele Rico. Midway through Chapter 3, there is an exercise related to a song heard in childhood. The task involves clustering a phrase from this song, and building on the images evoked by this phrase. Doing this should lead you to what wants to be written. Then you write a vignette based on this cluster for four or five minutes. After that, you rework your vignette and add to it or cut out whatever is necessary.

For this exercise, I recalled passages from the song “Beautiful Dreamer” by Stephen Foster. My dad liked to sing this song when I was growing up, while my mom or my sister played piano. The following vignette was the result:

UNDER THE STARS

Under the stars,
by the light of the moon,
is where I go
and dream.
When the noises of day
fade away,
and all of life’s cares
are still.
Away from the throng,
I come to this silence
To dream.
Music plays,
and the melody soothes,
like balm for a wounded
soul.

Let me have this time
and place,
let me find some
some peace.
I do not wish to hurt you,
my love
but I need you to let me
be me.

Let me go
to this sacred space,
and help me find
my way.
For I need time
to heal the wounds,
and I need time
to grow strong.

So let me have this time,
this place –
under the stars
by the light of the moon –
and let me dream
my dreams.