About a year ago now we introduced an album release by Guðrið Hansdóttir titled ‘Beyond the Grey’. Guðrið is a native of the Faroe Islands and the album captured the magic of that place (read our review here). It was through this album that I was first introduced to Randi Ward a poet from West Virginia. She wrote all the lyrics for the album. Randi had spent considerable time on the Faroes and her lyrics captured its beauty in an unforgettable way making it all the more special.
She recently returned home, having spent so many years abroad she told me that the transition she now needs to go through to adjust back to that old way of life would be a lengthy one. Before leaving she participated in one last project titled ‘Dregs’, a poem that Randi wrote. The video for the project was filmed in Ytri-Tindstaðir, Iceland by by Gunnar Steinn Úlfarsson. The music which accompanies the words is “Her Searching Hands” from Skúli Sverrisson’s album Seria (2006).
dregs
(1).
A copper kettle
hides its cobweb
from the sun.The handle’s broken
off the door,
but it still shuts.A cup of coffee
laced with notes
of cardamom.No bitter aftertaste
to bait
my scalded tongue.(2).
My windows only
look this dirty
in the sun.The handle’s broken
off the door,
but it still locks.A cup of coffee
doesn’t care
what it becomes.Drink it to the dregs
then leave it
when it’s done.(3).
The curtains draw me
when they’re tired
of the sun.No more mistaking
gusts of wind
for friends long gone.A cup of coffee
doesn’t care
what it becomes.Drink it to the dregs
then leave it
when it’s done.