Glorious Wings

~ Suzy Hazelwood

f95b88616fe77fb28f8b824625a14269-d4sfwfm-deviantart.com

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In the midst of dreams
I find myself in flight
my hands
my feet
are growing feathers
my dream unfolds
and it seems I have become
a graceful bird

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I rise upon the wind
soar beyond humanity
drift and dance on high
dive and swoop among the clouds
I am complete
I am free

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I leave behind
the lowly earth
to perch on the tallest trees
joining the twilight chorus
my voice
melts the human hearts beneath
and I sing the sweetest melody
of all they shall never know

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I look upon
that distant world
recalling time
when my feet
where anchored to the ground
those days before
I lifted my glorious wings
and learned how to fly

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Well, here it is – I finally made a recording of me reading my poetry!
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When I uploaded this to SoundCloud today, it suddenly occurred to me, the last time I recorded a poetry reading I was age 7, it was a nursery rhyme about a cat, which I immediately followed with a random invented story about the journey of two cats on a flying magic carpet!!  Yes….I had a wild imagination, but I won’t be uploading that recording to SoundCloud, way too embarrassing!  It struck me funny my first reading on here is yet again – about flight.  What is it about flying!!!?

Picture: Virgin of the Birds by RobShields ~ Deviantart
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69 thoughts on “Glorious Wings”

  1. OK, now I know where to go when I want to listen to some good poetry! What a great poem (read in a really great voice!) I’m so enjoying going through your stuff right now, and glad to know I have much more to look forward to. I hope I’ll also reach the point when I can look back at the time before I knew how to fly…working on it!

    1. Thank you very much, that’s really kind of you! Good to hear you’re enjoying it all! I hope you get to the point of looking back before you knew how to fly too – may you grow some awesome wings!! 😀

  2. Hi Suzy, I’m late in finding this gem of a poem. I really enjoyed your reading of the words. As others have expressed; you have a nice, soothing voice, accent and flow to the reading. It adds a richness to the poem. I’ve wondered about reading or recording my poems. Good for you! 🙂

    1. Thank you very much! 🙂 This was the first recording I did, I was a little nervous about recording my voice, but I knew others had experienced the same feeling and moved on from that and were really enjoying it – and I am now!

      It’s silly really, it’s only ourselves that are self-conscious, nobody else minds what we sound like at all. Yes, have a go if you are thinking of it! It’s certainly a good way to connect better with blog friends, gives everyone a better sense of who the person is behind the blog. There are so many miles between us all, a voice recording or a video helps close the gap. I commented to one lady in the US recently that it felt like she was standing in my living room reading her poem, we had a laugh about it, but it is true, it really does feel like that! 🙂

      1. Insightful Suzy, you’ve touched on an aspect I hadn’t mentioned; I’ve heard my recorded voice before and don’t like it. Hopefully others would perceive my voice differently. We’ll see if I cross that bridge.

        I’m all for building bridges! Mine might have to be words and pictures for now. And hugs for those I encounter in person. 🙂

  3. Pingback: My Poetic Confidants / My April Reblogs | Geo Sans

  4. I love this, it is truly beautiful. And very visual. It was as if I was there on the journey. Your voice is stunning, very elegant and mesmerizing. Great job.

    1. Thank you! Several recordings? That’s quite good – I do more than several!!! 😀 I just keep the recording going until I feel like I’ve really got the rhythm right, and even then I carry on a few more times. I only listen to the last 4 or 5 and I pick one from those. I discount the recordings at the start, I know they’ll be rubbish!! I used to feel nervous too, but I’ve got over that now, but I do like to be completely on my own when I’m recording, can’t concentrate with anyone in the background! 🙂

    1. Thank you Chris! 🙂 A little bit of fantasy is a good uplifting thing sometimes! I like to hear poetry read too, and certainly on a blog it gives me a clearer sense of the person behind the writing, which is a bonus. This was my first attempt at reading on here, I’m getting used to it now, and it’s helped me refine my poetry a lot. 🙂

  9. Your poem is just lovely, Suzy, and your voice is exquisite! I love your accent, which adds more charm to your amazing writing…I also started recording, but I wish I had your beautiful accent! I hope you’ll do more, too! xxx

    1. Thank you so much Lauren! 🙂 And thanks for the follow and likes on SoundCloud too! I’ve listened to some of your poetry readings on SoundCloud and your voice sounds lovely to me, definitely sounds like a voice that would be good for readings of novels! And your is accent is great, I actually like to hear the US accent in these poetry readings, I think it’s suits poetry very well, has a very smooth relaxed sound. It’s quite common to not like our own voices much, especially accents, and I’m not too keen on mine! I know a few others have told me the same when they listen to other readings they wish they could speak a little different. I think we just have to embrace who we are, and what we sound like, and keep working with that. It would be terrible if we all sounded the same. 😐

      I shall get back to your SoundCloud in a while, I’m running a little behind with everything at the moment!! 😀

      1. You’re welcome, Suzy, and I agree with you about not liking our own voices as much as others…and no worries about being behind..I’m so far behind and feel so bad for those I have not visited. I’m not getting all notifications, either, and have not figured it out with WP, so that also doesn’t help me in seeing all who has posted…anyway, one day at a time! Take care, Hugs!

    1. I’ve never had anyone describe my accent as enchanting before, but thank you so much Ronald, that’s so lovely of you to say that! You’ve made my day, and I feel quite fairytale now!! 😀

  13. Oh! I finally heard you! It is wonderful! What are you using to record? My recordings are always so full of static! It really makes your poetry come alive,

    1. Glad you found it – thank you!! 🙂 Yes recording a reading really does make a difference to how you see poetry, I even had to amend the poem slightly just to make it flow a bit better so I could read it without tripping over my words too much!! I feel there’s a lot to learn about the flow of writing, and making something easy on the brain and a joy to read, so recording a reading is helping me do that even more.

      When you say static you do mean a hissing noise mixed into the recording? I was getting the mysterious hiss no matter what recording equipment I used, drove me crazy, and just when I was about to give up in despair, my brother came across a tiny MP3 recorder that recorded a nice clear sound, and it was really cheap too! I just plugged a little microphone into the mic socket and that makes the sound a lot more professional – well, almost anyway! I’d gladly give you a link to Amazon if I could, but just after he bought that, it disappeared and the company themselves don’t seem to sell it any more. 😦 So it’s a rare item now!

      For some reason there is no name for the product on the actual recorder, I don’t have the packaging, so I’ll ask my brother, because there is a small possibility you might at some time find someone selling one on ebay if you Google the product, may be a way to get hold of it. A lot of MP3 recorders either don’t have a quality recording sound or if they do they are very expensive, and if you find it isn’t quite what you want, it’s a bit of a waste of money to end up with an pricey dictaphone that you might not have a need for!

      Some other bloggers have told me they use their iPhones as recorders and also for video, and I have to say their recordings and videos are really excellent quality! That’s probably the most reliable product to try, but they are very expensive at the moment, which is why I don’t have one, just can’t afford it at this time, (I’ve got a cheap and cheerful mobile phone, one that doesn’t do real quality recordings or pictures) but I might see if I can invest in a second hand iPhone next year, they sound a useful thing to have. I hope this gives you something to investigate! 🙂

    1. Oh, thank you Robert! 🙂 And yes, I finally got round to recording it, took me about a week to press the right buttons to upload it to SoundCloud. I kept putting it off for another day – silly I know, but I’m over it now! Another fear diminished! I like deleting fears, but just not the process of, but it’s good to be on the other side!

      You’d like to hear the 7 year old me reading the story? Are you sure about that!!? I do sound very sweet and baby like, but – there is a big BUT actually, there is a word I used a lot throughout that recording of the story about the cats, it’s an another word for cat, mm… it seemed quite an innocent word for a little girl to use in the 1970’s, but it’s got a totally different association these days!! 😉 Put it this way, my brother and I can’t listen to it without a lot of LOL and OMG! 😀

      That’s why I’m very careful with my words today! 😉

      1. HA, hooray to you for pressing the right button finally. now onto another fear :).

        my highest reason for wanting to hear it because you don’t want to share it, ha. haha, i think i know the word. that’s hilarious. poor innocent 7 year old you.

    1. Haha – thanks Geo!! 😀 It’s good that I didn’t really sing it though, I’m not sure my singing voice is quite as sweet – might need a little fine tuning! 😉

    1. Thank you so much Alisha!! 🙂 I know I took my time, but I finally got round to it! I made the recording on an MP3 recorder, and got rid of the problem with the hiss I was having trouble with! Hoping to do some more recordings – when I’ve got the time! 🙂

      1. You are so welcome Ms Suzy!!! Your sound was absolutely clear. I know they will all sound amazing!!! I can’t wait to hear more recording!!!! Yeahyyy Go Ms Suzy!!! 🙂

  18. Wow, Absolutely, lovely….I love this poem. It is so graceful. I think you should upload it to SoundCloud. I think it would sound all the more beautiful. 🙂

  19. I loved your poem, Suzy, and your reading. Your voice makes your poem sing. Lovely.

    On the subject of flight, especially in dreams, is it not a sign of the desire to be free, to escape life’s stresses? That’s how I’ve thought of it.

    1. Oh thank you Judy! 🙂 Yes, I think it is about freedom, and escaping from those things that hold us down. I’ve obviously had a desire to escape from something for many years with my obsession with flying, I’ll have to think on what those things are! 😉

  20. I loved your poem but no sound for me! My laptop has some serious issues and we need to sit down and have a good talk. I suspect my husband has once again fiddled with the security things on it making it virtually impossible to do, see or hear anything. I will try and resolve it and come to comment properly…..

    1. Oh! 😦 That’s a annoying – a timely moment to lose your sound! Never mind, come back and listen when it’s fixed. It will still be here! 🙂

  23. Keep it on, Suz : ) I always thought that authors sound worse than their works. Sometimes I am mistaken. : ) And what a charming voice was flowing into ears. ; )

    1. It’s funny you should say that, because I was listening to some poetry by published poets on SounCloud from the publishers page, and I wasn’t very impressed with their voices, how they read it or the quality of sound either. But I’ve heard some really great ones on WordPress! It seems some bloggers have a more professional approach than the professionals!

      And thank you so much Yuriy, I will be doing some more soon! 🙂

      1. Really, Suzy, it was done professionally or I’d say rather knowing how to say and render the feelings with the voice using the tongue which doesn’t betray you at the moment of saying. You know that I can do it only talking to someone but not to myself. : )

    1. Thank you! I enjoyed creating it, good experience for listening to my voice and how I speak! And yes I agree, I’ve enjoyed other recordings bloggers have made, and it is nice to hear how they intended it to be read. 🙂

  25. Ooh, I’m glad you figured out how to do the recording. It really adds to the emotion of the written word to hear it – especially in the author’s own voice! Yay 🙂 this is fun!

    1. Oh thank you!! 🙂 Yes, I think it does add some emotion to the whole post, I’ve certainly enjoyed other poetry readings some have done. And makes me feel I’ve met the person, which I know is a total illusion – but it’s a good illusion – adds to the blogging experience anyway! 🙂

  26. You have such a gentle, lovely voice. And of course, I am adoring your accent! Just got home right now, and the first thing I did was go to your SoundCloud, haha ♥

    I think you and me both love the idea of flight. This is also why I love hiking so much… you can be above the clouds, high in the mountains since I am lacking wings. ^_^

    1. Thank you Britt!! And such dedication – first thing you did when arriving home! 🙂

      Yes, it does sound gentle in this recording, it isn’t always that gentle though! 😉 I can be quite loud when I want to! 😆 I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone say they adore my accent before – so that’s a first, thank you, very sweet of you to say that!♥

      Oh yes, your wings, you are always trying to fly! Those views you have are very stunning with cloud all around you – I’m very jealous! I don’t have any mountain areas near me. It’s on my list for one day – when I can afford it, visit a mountain somewhere beautiful – or maybe I’ll just lift my wings and fly there! 😉

    1. Yes – as in the video! I think you may well be right there! People have been dreaming and striving to fly for hundreds of years. It’s great that we can do it now, but it would be even better if it just came naturally – lift our wings and we’d be off. So yes, freedom must be it! 😀

    1. Thank you so much!! 🙂 There was a lot of practising to get it sounding right. I know it sounds effortless, but it really wasn’t, it’s been a real challenge to get it sounding exactly like I wanted it to, but I like a challenge now and then – keeps my brain awake! 😀

  29. Suzy this is fabulous! You have a gorgeous speaking voice,, perfect for reading poetry out loud! I dread recording my voice for fear the Yorkshire accent creeps in! I need to practice a little more. I didn’t think I had a Yorkshire accent until I began having a go at recording. Its not too strong so with a little practice we shall see!

    You could be a newsreader! 🙂 xx

    1. Thank you!! 🙂 You probably won’t believe me Christine, but it wasn’t so fabulous on my first recordings! I sounded not too far removed from a 12 year old reading out loud dull poetry from a school book! I thought, no – no – that won’t do! So I practiced (a lot) until I damn well got what I wanted to hear!! 😀 It’s been a real challenge, not something I’ve had to do before, and it’s amazing what effort and concentration goes into it, to get certain pauses in the right place and iron my accent out a little – yes I have a an accent too Christine! I’ve lived in Norwich for 25 years now, and I know I’ve picked up some of the accent, and like you I really don’t want to hear it. But you know, I’ve heard a variety of accents reading poetry on WordPress blogs and even You Tube videos and they all sound fine to me, but I don’t really like my own. I wouldn’t worry about your Yorkshire accent, it’s only going to bother you, not anyone else. We get so critical over the sound of our own voices! Anyway, I think a Yorkshire accent can be very nice, especially if it’s subtle – so keep practicing, and give it a whirl! 🙂

      Newsreader!? That reminds me of what my brother said, I sounded like I had my best BBC voice on! I might try and relax that a little as I get used to it all, sort of go with my natural flow! 😀

      1. Ive done it! Ive just joined soundcloud and recorded my first poem! Its one about my alcoholism; it cried out to be the first one. I need more practice though!

        I think its good tour voice could be like a newsreader’s! Its lovely and clear and I could hear every expression really well. 🙂 xx

        1. Well done Christine, it’s brilliant!! 😀 I love it’s reality, and as I’ve said on your poem it reminds me of Charles Bukowski, not just because of what it’s about, but also in it’s style too! I can see this is going to be quite interesting fun to hear each others voices from now on! 😀

          1. Thank you Suzy! Youre very encouraging and thats appreciated because this actually scares me but I want to do it!

            I hadnt heard of Charles Bukowski; Im in the process now of looking him up! I keep learning a lot here on WP!

            I need lots more practice though, I dont feel I sounded confident! Xxx

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