Frissons

Click Play to hear the musical version of Frissons.
Read along with the music.

I.
Feathers flush rainbows.
Wings whirr over corn stubble.
Shotgun barrels lift.

II.
Shadows gray and black.
Feathered voices call cadence.
Wings wrap the chill sky.

III.
Tire treads grab, mold, cut
snowy slush into zigzags.
Short-lived street tattoos.

IV.
Crows forage in fields,
squawk, shake wings over spilled corn,
black dancers on snow.

V.
Black beaks, feathers, claws.
Dark shadows swirl into night.
Dead leaves wind-skitter.

VI.
Brown leaves swirl outside.
Deep in the rug by the hearth,
crickets dream of spring.

Music by Elaine Erickson. Suzanne Lommler, mezzo-soprano, James Poulsen, piano.