To my introverts out there, my ‘neurospicies’, and anyone else “fallen into shadows and dreams”.

Have you ever just sat there, scrolling on Insta or Tiktok watching these artists creating music, just wondering: what if? What if I had the courage to make something as good, funny or interesting as them? Would any of my writings ever be good enough to be made into a song?

I always wondered what it would be like to reach out to someone who could help me realise my writings in another medium. Always the what ifs. What could be’s. The fantasy of asking if someone would be interested in turning mywork into something so musically beautiful. But never had the courage. Then I came across an artist on Instagram and fell in love with one of their songs: The Charge of The Light Brigade. Played it on a loop for weeks, still wondering ‘what if I had the courage to ask?’

By the way, you should definitely check this guy’s work out. He is an amazing creator. Both he and his girlfriend have great voices, great artistry and create solid videos and music.  Check out @SethMakesMusic on Instagram, or his songs on Spotify under Seth Abstract. Worth a listen. He has made some of the great poets’ work into modern day songs, which I think is an amazing thing to do to reintroduce the art of poetry, especially from some of the greats.

Anyway, back to my reason for this rambling.

I was enjoying his Edgar Allan Poe song on Spotify and decided. Decided it should no longer be a what if, but a ‘let’s risk it’. I reached out, and long story short, he mentioned he was looking for a new project of turning his viewers’ poems into songs. So before I could back out, I sent him my poetry and gave him only one request. That he use a similar style of music to Charge of The Light Brigade. No other restriction. I gave him free rein to do whatever he felt with it.

Yes, I was nervous. Yes, I was terrified. No, I didn’t regret it.

It only took a few short (nerve wracking) weeks. Wondering if it would work, or if he would say it wasn’t possible as my poetry was tricky. But then I got the message that flooded me with adrenaline. The words I never thought I would see

“The video’s finished and posted”.

I may have cried in excitement and happiness. Even though I was at work, I had to briefly hide to peek at the video. And I was just stunned. Awed. He had done the poem justice. The cinematography, the music. And this was all the day before my birthday. It was the best birthday gift I could have ever asked for.

And then I received another gift from him. Another message. One I am sharing on here with all of you. The completed version of the sung poem.

Now he mentioned that it was raw and, he felt, falling apart by the end. But I will be very honest here and disagree completely. I love the fact that it seems to pick up in emotional intensity. It reflects the emotion in my poem spectacularly. There is an element of desperation, almost crazed thoughts, highlighting whatever strong emotion you feel while reading the poem itself. It could be the loss of a male relative, or the loss of a partner. It is intentionally meant to be that way- my emotions are there, but what makes the poem so special is how it can be interpreted to your own ideas and emotions.

I am now able to honour the inspiration for this poem in two ways, and he will always be my loved “man fallen into shadows and dreams”. But I know he is watching over me as I have grown up, and he can see and hear this song.

This song is dedicated to my father’s brother, my Uncle, who inspired me to reach for my own goals as a teacher after watching his impact on students, and fostered my love for reading of weird and wonderful fantasy novels by hunting down the obscure titles such as Dragonlance trilogies, and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time in time for my birthday and Christmas.

So to all of you out there I say this. Take the risk, if you are thinking about it. Yes it can be terrifying, nerve wracking, and maybe intimidating. But as I found out, well worth the risk of rejection.

Now I hope you like the song as much as I do, and please go and check Seth’s social media as well as his music on Spotify, Apple Music and Youtube Music.

Enjoy.