What do you love about where you live?
I love that I have been blessed to settle into two very creative settings. One in Bucks County, PA, and another on a barrier island in Brevard County, FL. Both homesteads are remote without being out-of-touch with society, and offer a personal connection to nature. What I love the most is that I’ve found them both to be spiritually inspiring places to call home.
When my path is straight
And love replaces hate
Don’t you know
I’m home again
~ E.M.
What positive emotion do you feel most often?
I wake each day feeling blessed. When I take an honest look at my life I see providence. My life is a web, one thread after another, of fortunate occurrences that I have had nothing to do with. Mind you I do have free will and have had to make decisions throughout my journey, but the overriding opportunities seem to have the fingerprints of another.
And so yes I often feel blessed. Yeah, it rains from time to time, but even the occasional darkness always gives way to light sooner or later, and the underlying fact is that each day is beautiful in it’s own way, and there lies the blessing.
What is a word you feel that too many people use?
I just hate to hear someone say I can’t. As in, I can’t do this; I can’t do that; I can’t say that. In a world of ambiguity that word just rings of negativity. Whenever I hear some say I can’t, I hear God say I can.
When you move irrelevant
When you’re the hued elephant
When you hear yourself exclaiming, “I can’t!”
Walk in Canaan
~ E.M.
What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?
Speaking for myself, the most important thing to carry with me at all times is love.
It doesn’t matter what I say
It doesn’t matter what I do
Without love
I’m nothing without love
~ E.M.
Describe your life in an alternate universe.
Haha, most of the time I actually feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. I don’t adhere to so many of this world’s ways. I find it hard to wrap my mind around the changing social, political and economic landscape. And since I’m willing to do the will of God, I’m constantly challenged to live in what feels like an an alternate universe.
I’m willing to do your will
I’m living to live your love
I’m serving the son to hear you one day say well done
I’m willing to do your will
~ E.M.
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.
As I took this prompt to heart, I found that whatever story I came upon enticed me to pray. As a man of faith I’m always drawn to pray when I hear or read a story. Either out of joy or concern, there always seems to be good reason to be in momentary prayer.
Peace lies in the heart of the believer
Calm lies in the hands of compassion
Love lies in the words of the one
who’ll pray on, so pray on
~ E.M.
What are you curious about?
I’m curious as to how the world became so adverse to diversity. We live in a world that’s comprised of different views, different, likes and dislikes, lets call it different colors. And it’s all this diversity that creates all the beauty that surrounds us. If you start to pull the various colors out of the rainbow it’s not as brilliant anymore. My prayer would be that we’d find a connection to what we have in common, and relish in our creative differences.
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
One of my favorite acts of kindness is to purchase happy meals for the homeless. Providing some nourishment and catching the smile is priceless. If there’s a problem, it’s that I don’t act on it enough.
I saw a shirtless boy with a bag of donuts
Watching the sun come up
As I passed him by between his next mouthful
He smiled and asked wassup?
I could see on his face the innocence behind his tired eyes
I could hear in his voice the embarrassment beneath the worn out lies
What I do, what I do
What I do, what I do
What I do, what I do
What I do, what I do is immeasurable
~ E.M.
How would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?
I’ve always had an affinity for the old black and white westerns from the late fifties and early sixties. So I’d like to think that being a cowboy in the badlands might describe who I am. After all what I do, will always speak louder than what I say.
You call me cowboy
You call me cowboy in the badlands
In the desert; in the barrens; in the wasteland
~ E.M.
‘Za is the fourth single release from December’s Trio album. A sparse reimagining of the tradition trio setting.
This song has a metaphorically smiling lyric that should challenge the listener a bit. The title was actually from a magazine article that I had stumbled upon. I immediately recognized what I wanted to say, or maybe play with is a better explanation. I’m always looking for a way to stir up a listener’s imagination, and hopefully conjure up some emotional response from them. In this case, maybe even some abstract thinking.
Lyrics:
Early in the morning, any time of day
Any time’s a good time, any kind of way
I can take it cold, any time at all
It goes down easy, in the local church hall
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?
If I had my way, I’d always have more
More than may be normal, a note of folklore
Some cry, ‘oh no!, you can’t do that!’
Preaching to the misfit, like some green-eyed cat
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Oh won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?
Don’t give me substitutes, don’t give me theories
No hypothetical miniseries
Just give me a slice, a verse or two
Yeah, I’m a greek guy, but any version will do
I go traditional, I go New York
I go with fold it, or a knife and fork
I don’t go judging, so don’t judge me
Just offer me a bite, and let my manna be
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?
© 2022 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Album: Trio
Video Credits: EM | Pizza by Alfredo (Dafont.com)
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