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Dale Trumbore
Dale Trumbore
This blue morning (from A Calendar of Light)
Amid the looming threat of climate change, we do what we can, whether that’s planting a tree or writing to spark hope and action.
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A Calendar of Light
SATB Chorus & Mezzo-Soprano Solo
“I should be doing more to save the planet,” sings the mezzo-soprano narrator of This blue morning. Instead of planting a tree or raising a turbine, they do the work they can: “Put one word in front of the other… It might become something that will burst into flame.” This piece is excerpted from A Calendar of Light, a 75-minute work that takes the shape of a calendar and holds us accountable for our relationship with the earth, especially within the greater context of climate change. Ultimately, the piece calls for reflection and action.
Composer’s Notes
This work was commissioned by The Esoterics and is dedicated, with gratitude, to its Artistic Director, Eric Banks. A Calendar of Light was composed in part at the Tusen Takk Foundation, with thanks to Geoffrey Peckham and Patricia Melzer for their generous support.
-Dale Trumbore
Text
THIS BLUE MORNING
[It’s Monday morning]
mid-November, the world turned golden,
preserved in amber. I should be doing more
to save the planet—plant a tree, raise
a turbine, put solar panels on the roof
to grab the sun and bring it inside. Instead,
I’m sitting here scribbling, sitting on a wrought
iron chair, the air cold from last night’s frost,
the thin sunlight sinking into the ruined
Appalachians of my spine. I know it’s all
about to fall apart; the signs are everywhere.
But on this blue morning, the air bristling
with crickets and birdsong, I do the only thing
I can: put one word in front of the other,
and see what happens when they rub up against
each other. It might become something
that will burst into flame.
—Barbara Crooker
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