the deepening ground

Rather than add a few more photo poems today (I may add some later this week), I turn to the newest song in my constellation series. It’s been six months since I last wrote something musically, a sad commentary on the pace and priorities of my life from a creative perspective. It’s not that I haven’t been trying. I have pages of false starts on Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear, or Little Dipper. However, it wasn’t until a small window of time opened up over lunch last week that the song really took form.

As I’ve said before, I grow tired of the myths frequently associated with these constellations. When I initially set out to write these songs, I wanted to find inspiration in the constellations in order to navigate through life, just like those who used the stars to cross oceans or deserts. The myths were a way to make sense of the world as well, though I wonder at times if they weren’t just an excuse for licentious behavior. Still, what could I glean from this lesser bear?

The Lesser Bear is certainly not lesser in importance. The crux of my previous song “Ursa Major” lies in the fact that many use The Big Dipper as a way to find Polaris, the North Star. So, in all reality, Ursa Major is the lesser, in a sense, existing to point to something greater! For this song, I imagined a dialogue between the singer (the verses) and the constellation (the chorus). The speaker, clearly burdened by the difficulties of life, something even more weighty over the last two years, questions, “How do I navigate these days … how will I ever find my peace … how can I stand?” Nearly overwhelmed by the vitriol, anxiety, deception, and lack of courageous leadership, the chorus reminds the speaker to “seek me” in the darkest times and “let the lesson of the Lesser lead you on.”

Rather than stretch this post out longer, I leave you with the song itself. For those who live locally, you’ll likely hear this song added to the Treebeard Brown set list in upcoming shows. May it leave you with hope, especially when you feel you can’t go on or you’re in the darkest of nights. Seek out the North Star and let Him be your resolve.

Ursa Minor

Vincent H. Anastasi - 2022

If you seek me in the night,
know I will surely point you right;
let the lesson of the Lesser lead you on.
When your ship is tempest tossed,
know you are never truly lost;
let the lesson of the Lesser lead you on.

How do I navigate these days
ever buffeted by waves
when all is shaken and ablaze in vitriol?
How will I ever find my peace
when anxieties increase
and fear it spreads like a disease implacable?

Chorus

Now there's a dragon roams the skies
with his hypnotizing eyes
and he is spewing forth his lies across the land.
The kings and queens have turned to stone
abdicating every throne
'til herculean, all alone, how can I stand?

Chorus

And when tyrannical demands
masquerade as loving hands
then in your circumpolar dance, I will revolve.
Don't let my astigmatic sight
fail to note the Northern light
and when I'd sooner flee than fight, be my resolve!

Chorus