the deepening ground

As the school year winds down, time to be creative grows like the lengthening Spring days! However, I was not expecting to have a creative moment when I stepped into my colleague’s classroom to observe her Contemporary Literature and Creative Writing class right after lunch. I drifted to the back of the room full of seniors who, in many ways, have already checked out, but here remain engaged in an introductory lesson on songwriting and lyrics. Right up my alley!

Though my primary task remained – provide constructive feedback through the official state electronic teacher evaluation portal – the anticipatory set or bell-ringer, if you will, provided a much welcomed (and preferred) opportunity to be creative. The task: use the following ten words related to music generated by ChatGPT in a short story – remix, playlist, Spotify, vibe, headphones, bass, mic, chorus, track, and concert. The problem: only a few minutes to write.

Immediately, my ONLY attempt at slam-styled poetry began to take shape. And though I used all ten words within thirteen lines, the poem didn’t feel complete. So after nearly a week of revisiting the albums and songs that would have appeared on my own mix tape from the 80s and 90s, I arrived at this memorial to the albums and artists who have most influenced me as a poet and musician. (Follow the hyperlinks to the albums/songs referenced in the second stanza)

The Remix

By Vincent H. Anastasi 2025

This is the remix
the nostalgic playlist revisited
my life soundtrack amplified
gone public on Spotify – I vibe
in step with the walking bass tones
shun the isolation of headphones
I sing the chorus loud so
all can feel the way out
of these narrow catacombs
I grab the microphone
leap onto the stage
the concert I engage
'til mic drop, walk away
the curtain call they play
of the polyphonic song of life.

I ate from the Joshua Tree
jammed to Vitalogy
'til I was out of time
in my teenage mind
disarmed by a Siamese dream
a wish and jar of flies – I realized
the songs of the fathers became the songs of the sons
so I returned, turned, turned
to the act I'd know for all those years
the vinyl records reappeared
and I lost myself in the sounds of silence
the pet sounds of my heart's reliance
and I found the music never truly died
and I had fully come alive
again to sing the song of life!