Tonight I have a solo gig at Bistro 221! Cool! I’m soooo looking forward to it.

What happened was an anamoly… a gliche in the Matrix! Singer Donnie Finnell thought I was busy with Big Daddy Orchestra tonight and got another drummer. I thought it was going to be a usual gig at The Bistro but Donnie is doing a private party at the Rancho Bernardo Country Club!

So, fortune smiled down upon me and the owners of the Bistro would like me to play solo piano tonight! And I haven’t done a solo piano gig in a long, long time, so I’m kinda happy for the change of pace.

Anyways, I’ve been feeling these aches in my neck and shoulders, even though I’ve been doing my daily Yoga routine. It’s weird because I don’t feel any aches and pains while doing the Yoga, just while sitting. Perhaps it’s some form of stress-related, poor posture thing. But the Yoga should help alleviate that. Ah, it might be the headstands. I do headstands in my Yoga routine and I’ve been doing them for longer periods of time. I think I’d better ease up on that because it does take some neck and shoulder muscle effort to maintain the headstand itself, so… that just might be it.

Other than that, my Yoga routine itself is going great. I’m doing it daily but dividing it between A.M. and P.M. routines, and going for 30 to 45 minutes each time. Nowadays, it’s kinda hard to get a 90 minute to 2 hour routine going, so dividing the Yoga time allows me to continue to do it daily. The Yoga continues to help my musical performance considerably, and last night I had a really great night. I felt really good and it reflected in the audience reaction and the tips. One very important reason to continue doing the daily Yoga routine.

perhaps a few of you know all too well that i love sky photos, and here’s a beautiful sky photo by winnie… i’m trying to remember, though… sorry.

i’ve been prolific with the poetry writing. i have three more but they are still in the “draft” stage. i have been inspired!

. . . .

aein expressed her appreciation for my piano improvisations and i thank you, aein. per her suggestion, i added them back to the site a while ago, so if you haven’t checked them out, please do and let me know what you think.

i’m feeling much better today, and
i was able to write four new poems recently.

once
long ago
i looked up
at the early evening
sky

the air, so crisp
and clear

gazing
just above
a darkening, southwestern
horizon

i saw
the twinkling
of the first star

it appeared like
an angel, shimmering bright

and i made a wish
to that star above

i wished
with all my
heart…

that
everything
i’d hoped for
would come true

and i listened
to the music playing
in my head

and in my mind
i saw a little boy
named palhaco…

whose heart was full
of dreams and wishes
of a distant land
to the north

and in my visions
i saw him crying
by the side of the road
his heart full of sadness…

he wondered why life was so hard
why there were so many obstacles he had to face…

yet he kept on

and i looked up at that star
and i cried and cried…
feeling a deep aching in my heart…

for palhaco and i
were one and the same…

but there was
a glimmer of hope
in palhaco’s eyes
as he looked up at that star

and he thought, “someday… i will be someone”

…while saying a prayer
and hoping for a brighter future…

one as bright as that star up above…
palhaco’s star

© 2005 Carlos Rull

it is, but
a sunny afternoon of sadness, that
recalls faint memories
from a song

i dwell
upon the shadows, behind
a flower pot

echoes of melancholy reflection
from the afternoon glow

a faint sound of a piano
heard in the distance

a sunny chair
empty, and all alone

the air, ever
so slight, begins
its cooling descent…

my heart, grows
heavy with sorrow, to
the view in the distance

and into the distance, i fall

and a book lies
on the lawn, its
pages turning, randomly
in the afternoon sun

all remains still, within
a quiet part of my soul

just waiting…

and dreaming…

as life
moves on within and beyond…

© 2005 Carlos Rull

the stars
twinkle so peacefully

the gentle evening
so calm and perfect

while mortal men
wage war and plunder lands
the universe seems quiet and true

while lovers quarrel
and families feud, there
is but the north star, so
serene, and shimmering…

while the politics of men
corrupt and cause entanglements
the constellations twinkle
quietly in the night

while the greed of man
builds up walls and barriers
falling stars cascade down
from the sky

while the human condition
brings much sorrow and suffering
the awesome view of the universe
expands before our eyes

there is but the night time sky
so quiet, so peaceful

i look to the heavens to this tranquil solitude
i dwell in the cosmic splendor that exists above me

and wishing we can all stop for just one moment
and find some peace in the night time sky

© 2005 Carlos Rull