Dawnings
By the lake
By Nicholas Hooper
By the lake I listen and watch
Swallows race in their low-level ariel display
Skimming the freshly cut grass
And all around the silence breathes your name
Once a queen of this magical place
You lie in peaceful death
The dark has taken you, and with you
All the sunny campers who would pay for a weekend of peace
Now the lake lies silent
The grass is quiet, the birds are hushed
The showers and toilets a ghostly reminder
Of your long rule
And in the ancient manor
The gentle sound of sleep
As you rest, rest, rest till the end of days
And Doomsday has its solemn way*
*Written after the death of a Lady who lived in a Manor which was mentioned in the Doomsday book.
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About Dawnings:
“Every morning at around 5am I get up and go down to my studio. After a short meditation I write down whatever is in my head, giving myself fifteen minutes to do so. Then moving over to the piano, I improvise and record a piece of music inspired by whatever words I just wrote. It is a great way of keeping both my writing and my composing going and I call these small creations Dawnings. They are mostly unedited, like sketches, so that they keep that fresh feeling of an early morning discovery.”
— Nick Hooper