I remember sky
“I Remember Sky” by Stephen Sondheim
It was blue as ink
Or at least I think
I remember sky
I remember snow
Soft as feathers
Sharp as thumb tacks
Coming down like lint
And it made you squint
When the wind would blow
And ice like vinyl
On the streets
Cold as silver
White as sheets
Rain like strings
And changing things
Like leaves
I remember leaves
Green as spearmint
Crisp as paper.
As I race from commitment to commitment this time of year, always slightly under the wire, I think of these lyrics by Stephen Sondheim from his television musical Evening Primrose.
The magic of these lyrics is that the singer has been shut up inside a department store for years, so all the metaphors compare natural phenomena to the most present experiences in their life – the physical objects for sale in the store: vinyl, sheets, spearmint, thumb tacks.
I remember free time and summer right now through a haze, like the singer of the song. And like the singer, if I were to create metaphors for summer, I would reach to…what? Rehearsals, concerts, stage lights, commutes, calendar notifications.