Dawnings
Keep calm
By Nicholas Hooper
Keep calm in a storm
as winds blow east and west
as waves push you one way or another
hold fast to the centre, balanced in your boat.
The storms of life will build and come or suddenly
overtake like an unexpected visitor
causing fast movement and
unthinking reaction.
So pause as the storm hits
and find another way to see what
is happening so that you don’t get carried
into the waves and out to sea, drowning in emotion.
Find a harbour: a friend, a place, a walk, some woods
and look back at the waves that crash on you,
feel those winds that tear at you and
be still, watching, waiting.
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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 (or a more portable instrument like my Ukulele when I'm away), 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