It's a Paul Simon kind of day. Here's one of my favorites from "So Beautiful or So What."
A pilgrim on a pilgrimage
Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
His sneakers torn
In the hour when the homeless move their cardboard blankets
And the new day is born
Folded in his backpack pocket
The questions that he copied from his heart
Who am I in this lonely world?
And where will I make my bed tonight?
When twilight turns to dark
Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
Fools do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world
If you shop for love in a bargain store
And you don't get what you bargained for
Can you get your money back?
If an empty train in a railroad station
Calls you to it's destination
Can you choose another track?
Will I wake up from these violent dreams
With my hair as white as the morning moon?
Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
I do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world
Downtown Brooklyn
The pilgrim is passing a billboard
That catches his eye
It's Jay-Z
He's got a kid on each knee
He's wearing clothes that he wants us to try
If every human on the planet and all the buildings on it
Should disappear
Would a zebra grazing in the African Savannah
Care enough to she'd one zebra tear?
Questions for the angels
I wrote more about this song and angel poems in general here.
The very talented Violet Nesdoly has the Poetry Friday roundup today here.
2 hours ago
9 comments:
Your post led me to your other post and then to the Ansari poem... what a fabulous rabbit trail! All keepers.
Thank you for the beautiful musical interlude in the middle of my day. Happy Friday! =)
Just lovely....and I do so love Paul Simon, too.
Thank you for this! I have a lot of Paul Simon, but have never heard this one. Simon's lyrics are always poetic... love them.
Having seen some photos of Haiti recently, I can imagine this song is especially poignant for you.
Actually, a very cool thing happened this week. A young man from our church who, with his brother, was adopted by a Canadian family out of a Hatian orphanage, went back there (Port Au Prince) recently on a mission trip. He wanted to see the orphanage, and walking in the neighborhood, met a lady who recognized him, called him by his Hatian name, and they had a reunion. She still works at that orphange, 17 years later.
I love this!
Oops, it should be "Haitian" in my comment above (not "Hatian"). I was thinking the spelling looked weird!
Fools and pilgrims... I love Paul Simon and now I'm curious to hear the rest of the album. (I was/am a huge "Graceland" fan as well!) Thanks for sharing this and for the links to other thoughtful, angelic offerings.
Ruth, thank you! I don't know this Paul Simon song. I want to hear the album. I know the Billy Collins' poem, but not the other one, so I followed the links. My favorite verse of the song is this one:
If every human on the planet and all the buildings on it
Should disappear
Would a zebra grazing in the African Savannah
Care enough to she'd one zebra tear?
Hi, Ruth. I love Paul Simon too (esp. the Bridge over Troubled Waters album). There was a great documentary on PBS about the 25th anniversary of Graceland. Positives (its influence on World Music) and negatives (how Simon broke the "cultural blockade" during apartheid). I hope you get the chance to see it.
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