They gathered between sweet resonant shards
Steadfast in countenance
Humming resistance’s first refrain
Warming the throat for battle.
Primal streets were cleared of audience
Isolated sound, battalion’s heels
Echoing cobbles of willowed esplanade
Marble aqueducts perspiring.
Sunrise winked on pips of rank, treble clefs
On each shoulder. She will lead them
Contraltos front, sopranos rear
Away from wooded temple, leafy hall.
Beneath the entrance gong that shudders warning
They are coming
Drumbeats roll across timpani hills
Rogue banners trill in morning breeze.
Only songbirds carved in windowsills
Remain, watch the warriors grasp hands
Listen for the chord. The dread call of war
F minor. They swell to meet it, a wall of sound.
Beneath the earth
Bars of stone and clay surge skyward
Long dormant fortifications
Swelling, trembling.
They stand firm. Vanguard
Sirens of the first choir. Last line of defence.
No cannon, no percussion left
But the city has its own voice.
It will sing again in glebe and blood.
They hold for the chorus
As bell towers crumble
At distant trumpet’s lance.
Notes:
Song: Kaval Sviri by Bulgarian State Television Female Choir
- Immediate tingles
- Togetherness / harmony – utopia but with undertones of something darker, something
looming, swelling - Ancient soft and gentle – mixture of the natural and almost angelic – wood / marble /
natural elements of stone, but worn from many years – moss, knotweed, ornate
carvings- not quite elvish but if humanity was elevated – working together to become
greater. - Strength, power, fierceness
- Female voice – protection – calm power, resilience
- A city that is bursting with life and hope but with populous willing to do what it takes
to protect it. Somewhere people WANT to live. Water / life / crystalline / beautiful - War? A threat – rise up to meet it with voices? Army of voices not weapons?
- Power of the voice and harmonies, delicate yet foreboding – minor chords. What sits
behind the walls of sound? - This is a city that does not want to fall, has a voice of its own – can be summoned
from the earth the protect those that wish to protect it (more ideas of combining life
within the people who live within city and city itself) - Population – mixed but turns idea of usual trope- men marching to war- around, and it
is the women who step forward with their voices to defend it? - Idea no one is in charge or forcing them to fight – this is more about defence and
standing up for what is already theirs – drums and trumpets are the enemy / both are
devoted to ‘music’ but more harsher sounds – could explore more? - City glimmering in first rays of morning – sun rise as voices rise. Light not darkness.
- It feels like a whole song but could be part of more – the actual battle would be more
intense, but this is just the start – soldiers lining up to face down an enemy - Suits a poem, structured, quite visual.
- Locrian mode – diminished chords – uneasy? Reference as name of city or ground
this stands on perhaps?
Zoe Davis is an emerging writer from Sheffield, England. A quality engineer in advanced manufacturing by day, she spends her evenings and weekends writing poetry and prose, and especially enjoys exploring the interaction between the fantastical and the mundane, with a deeply personal edge to her work. You can find her words both published and forthcoming in publications such as: Acropolis Journal, Strix, Illumen Magazine, Full House Literary and Broken Antler. You can also follow her on X @MeanerHarker where she’s always happy to have a virtual coffee and a chat.