“The Hunt of the Red Fox”
We follow your long trail
from a distance; prints
across a snowy landscape,
that weak shield blanketing
the black hills of the Dakotas.
Sharing these binoculars,
we watch you creep, stop,
wait; tilt your head; wait.
In warm burrows made
under three feet of snow,
field mice are stirring…
Ears hone in—you leap!
Then, descending, like a
red submarine, a white
teethed torpedo, tail’s
bloody colours wave.
Hopeless are the odds
of catching a critter,
but a fox doesn’t know
the meaning of defeat;
simply the taste of one
small meal at a time. Not
now. Empty-mouthed,
you reappear, shake off
the snow, and plot a new
hunt before we have found
words to express our awe.
If we shared that instinct,
that fearless persistence,
that dedication…could
our chase be satiated?
Written Dec 5-17, 2013
Notes:
Line 16: Shakespeare, Henry 3 allusion
Inspired from “The Fox” video
Grand ideas and the Artist-in-Waiting
“I’m waiting until I have enough money to make my masterpiece, but I don’t know how I’ll afford it,” says the artist-in-waiting.
Grand ideas are great, but only one person can see it. You.
Think about a a smaller project you can release tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. Who can see that? Everyone. (And maybe that brings you closer to the grand project later.)
Get working.
In the book Band:Smart, Martin Atkins tells bands, “100 people in a 50 capacity venue is a riot; 100 people in a 1200 capacity theater is a funeral.”
Which is why artists need to remind themselves that size matters!
And numbers matter too. Either small or large can be successful, as long as it’s the right room.
Cliches that ring true for the procrastinating artist
Why must those cliches often ring so true?
“The grass is always green on the other side.”
“The early bird gets the worm.”
“If you wait for the perfect situation, your butt’s going to get sore.”
“Perfection is the enemy of good.”
There is no perfect tour schedule, no perfect time to get your art out there, no perfect time to get working; no perfect financial situation to work on your art with a new strategy that fits your current situation. .
The perfect time is now.
Setlist – Acorn Theater, January 1, 2016
January 1, 2016 – Acorn Theater
Three Oaks, MI, opening for Frances Luke Accord
- I Just Want to Be Your Last
- Change the World (instrumental, Eric Clapton cover)
- Damn Fine Day (with Sandra Thompson)
- Made a Mess (with Sandra Thompson)
- Ohio (Neil Young cover)
- Burning Bright
- Ghostwriter
FLA playing in the beautiful Acorn Theater
