
Tag: motherhood


I bought a new make-up compact…
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
By: Paul Laurence Dunbar

Second Movement: The Mother Bird
The second movement is usually slow and lyrical, with a lilting, songlike theme. No battle-of-the-sexes melody thing goes on here, and the structure can be looser than in the first movement. Sit back and drink it in.
Note from The Fast Forward Blog: For Mother’s Day, I always feature a guest writer. In keeping with the theme of the symphony. The solo performance is from my mother, Debra. Read More