Category: Poetry

Seven Jungles of Bells

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A couple of years ago, I collaborated with the poet/artist Richard Leach. He allowed me to “respond” to his poem with visuals and sound. Richard is a diverse artist and his poetry can sometimes be whimsical and thoughtful at the same time.
Seven Jungles of Bells can be found in his book At This Time:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/richard-leach/at-this-time/paperback/product-23494265.html

For my interpretation, I included photographs from the Hubble Site which are public domain, home studio produced sounds, and NLR video effects chicanery.

Richard also writes blues poetry of which I have made music for over the years. He also creates collage art:
https://www.deviantart.com/richardleach

The Video:

Seven Jungles of Bells from Mark Wade on Vimeo.

A Little Funk

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Put a little funky music to a poem by Richard Leach. From his book “At this Time” – http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/richard-leach/at-this-time/paperback/product-23494265.html


Trouble (2017)
There’s trouble when you sit and trouble when you stand
trouble with your ostrich and trouble with your sand

There’s trouble when you’re tight and trouble when you’re loose
trouble with your gander and trouble with your goose

There’s trouble with your pride and trouble with your shame
trouble with your albatross and trouble with your blame

There’s trouble with your hook and trouble with your bait
trouble with your freedom and trouble with your fate

There’s trouble with your gremlins and trouble with your gods
trouble with your evens and trouble with your odds

There’s trouble with your symbol and trouble with your sign
trouble with your water and trouble with your wine

There’s trouble with your humbug and trouble with your bah
trouble with your do re mi, trouble with your fa

There’s trouble with your January, trouble with your June
trouble with your later and trouble with your soon

There’s trouble on the ground and trouble in the air
you know what I’m saying next – I think there’s trouble everywhere

©Richard Leach

Of Mountains and Islands

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Strength to strength
Mountain crumbles slowly
Holding fast
Against the torrents
Of one-thousand millennium

Brother had lost all confidence
So many summers ago
Splitting off
In a rage so violent
The chasm too wide to traverse

All life rushes headlong
Into their abyss
Revealing the turbulence
Of a long held grudge

Chained to the wrist
Of its keeper
The other hand
Clenched too tight
With keys of redemption


I have no idea where this came from….but I do know that there are some things that will twist my life unless I remove their power and just set them free.







Recurring Reverie

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Standing on the jetty
Getaway boat out of reach
Tried to walk on water
Again

Still not sure how
That works

Storm clouds chuckle 
At the sinking fool
Tried to breathe under water
Again

Still not sure how
That works

Anchovies float the body
Back onto the jetty
Sea lions devour them
Teeth tearing, ripping 

Thank you
Sinking scales
Remnants of best efforts

Just give me
Some time
I’ll get this right
Just give me
Some time

Quiet Confidence (Reprise)

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Oh my how the road
Can become dark so quickly
What once was well illuminated
Now stands in crushed shadows

But we know our steps
And have walked the terrain
In previous journeys 

The river still waits
Its banks overflow 
With expectation

Standing in the cool foam
A thousand tree limbs rush by
Debris from summer’s memory
Washing away forgotten voices

It all looked so dark
A moment ago
But I knew when I arrived, I remembered
Some things are so much stronger 
So much more reliable
Than I will ever be