Shadow's Shoe

Shadow’s Shoe

A grain of sand too minute to fill this centered space made by laced up black painted leather with an exposed sole;

Painfully causing blisters to toe, and heel, as I try to fill the vacancy of what I thought was empty, but instead over spills;

With notes made for bass, and tenor pan.

Rhythm that controls your waist, and fills you with wine,

Lyrics that molds your thoughts, and records shifts in time.

Overflowing with music that explodes in your mind,

and takes you on an odyssey into, all ah we ting.

That there is no space for me to fit,

Fills me with gratitude for all that he has put into it. 

A Moment Well Spent

Do you remember the exact moment when you realized that you loved the place you were at, the space you were in, the people, the sound, the smell, the culture. A moment where it felt like Nirvana.

When I saw the iconic image of Shadow, I was taken back to 1988 when one song made me realize that nothing much matters except the moment you are in, and that moment encompasses all moments.

Having decided to play night mass (now a thing of the past) in St James. I was disappointed when I realized that our small band, manager had spent most of the funds on the music truck, and the DJ, and had provided us with a white jersey as a costume.  Chipping along beside the slowly moving truck, in the dew damp evening, I inhaled deeply, consuming beer, rum, and smoke, that danced in the air.

The rhythm seemed to enter from the sole of my feet, from above into my head, from around through my fingers, mining into the center that is my soul, it rested there like a bird waiting to take flight.

When the brass started playing to introduce the song, the man, the lyrical word smith, the reason I was out in the dead of night, waking up Woodbrook on the way to St James.  I felt the wings flutter, and as the pace picked up, a tiny storm started rolling inside me.  By the time he sang,

“Music Sweet” I was already at Dingolay. That “Music Fills the world with happiness…” I had absolutely no doubt.  In that moment, I thought of nothing but the song and the immense happiness I felt. 

I shook the glitters of the past off my shoulder, and stared at the display. I took a moment to wonder, who will fill Shadow’s Shoe now.  But as I stood in the moment, and remembered, nothing matters but this moment, I realized his songs, De Bassman, Dingolay, Columbus Lied, Once upon a time …  were all clambering to come out.   His shoe does not need filling, it is already filled, and pouring over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_DLpyB_Q5U

Shadow was not the only one on display at Stollmeyer's Castle, but I remembered the moment.

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