Monday, March 29, 2010

Synchronicity and the Alba


Synchronicity is always an interesting phenomenon when it happens. For example, the day I chose to begin this blog and write the introduction was March 28th, which happened to be Byrd Baylor's birthday, the author of the book that inspired me to explore ways to start the day in the first place.

Another example of synchronicity? When a little poetic form called the alba was introduced to me at a poetry reading last week. As I sat and mused about mornings and writing, rituals and chants, all of a sudden the featured reader caught my attention once again as he explained an alba, which literally means sunrise. It's a very old Provencal poetic form from the medieval times. It's poetry that's meant to be read at dawn. It's a love song, a troubadour's call, words of longing after spending the night with a forbidden love. It could involve a guard warning the lovers or the jealous rival. Who knew I would stumble upon this poetic history once I opened my mind to the beginnings of a day?

Alba
---------------------
As cool as the pale wet leaves
of lily-of-the-valley
She lay beside me in the dawn.

-Ezra Pound

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