Midnight's Notes
© Rommi Smith, BBC Artist in Residence for the Commonwealth Games 2002

A series of Haiku, or 'one breath' poetry, originating from Japan. The poems are structured in a five, seven, five syllable form. Written after seeing Trilok Gurtu and Nitin Sawhney in performance at Contact, Manchester as part of CultureShock's Commonwealth Games Arts' Festival.

Silver fingered palms
Plant percussion's seeds in souls
Turn tune to blossom

In packed rows, we soak
Up another world, seat bound
Travel this globe home

Hands beat defy time
This is the moment, woken
The rhythm - alive

Her voice dances dawn's
Stringed line between, dusk, sleep, dream
Creating new steps

Indigo notes float
Cloak midnight's earth in regal
Colour kept for queens

Hands beat defy time
This is the moment, woken
The rhythm - alive

Music is me-mo-
ry, time passes as phrases -
Soundtrack of ourselves

We share a language:
Sound and fall and scale, not words
Meaning understood

Hands beat defy time
This is the moment, woken
The rhythm - alive