The Kitchen Musician ~ September 2024
Hello Friends,
I’ve been trying to clean up my basement – for the last fifteen years or so. Join me in the kitchen and I’ll explain why this is taking so long!
Index
NEWS:
THIS MONTH’S MUSIC: “To Love a Broken Thing”
UPCOMING SHOWS
FEATURED NON-PROFIT: American Civil Liberties Union
Photo by Dan Tappan
News:
I took much of the summer off to enjoy our family and spend time at our rustic cabin in Jaffrey, NH. In spite of that, my music calendar was quite full, including shows at Walnut Street Café, One Broadway Collaborative, Dublin Community Center, Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, and the Rindge Historical Society – including teaching a songwriting workshop and a family-friendly show where I could exercise the “Pete Seeger” in me.
I have some great shows coming up soon:
Sept 13, Friday: Gathering Grounds Coffeehouse, East Providence, RI (opening for Louise Mosrie)
Sept 15, Sunday afternoon: First Parish Unitarian, Waltham MA (hosting Celebration of Life of Ellen Schmidt)
Sept 15, Sunday evening: The Burren, Somerville MA (joining some great songwriters at a fundraiser for voter registration and the Harris-Walz Campaign)
Sept 17, Tuesday: The Optimist Café, Jaffrey, NH (dinner and a showcase, with Kim Wallach and Walden Whitham, rescheduled from June)
Oct 18, Friday: First Church, Dedham, MA (split bill with Cosy Sheridan)
Oct 24, Saturday: Merrimack Library, NH (songwriter night with Carl Beverly and Beverly Rush)
Please note: The Sept 17 and Oct 18 shows may sell out, so get your tickets ahead of time.
All show details can be found at upcoming shows.
This Month’s Music: “To Love a Broken Thing”
℗© 2024 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
I am trying to clean up my basement, but it is like a black hole – a powerful gravitational source that captures artifacts from my life and never lets them go. Margo and I have objects from the households of our beloved parents, from various chapters of our 48 years of marriage, and items that our children have decided are valuable enough to save but not valuable enough to take up space in their own homes. A random list includes the contents of my father-in-law’s desk, my brother-in-law Burge’s catcher’s mitt (circa 1960), my science fair project from when I was in 8th grade (I took third place!), three cardboard dulcimer’s that our children made when each was in seventh grade (they still stay in tune), a century old wooden student desk chair from the Brown University classroom of Margo’s grandfather (it has student initials and Brown’s football scores carved in the top) – and the list goes on and on.
I admit that most of the items are not particularly valuable, but many carry powerful emotional energy. How could I possibly dispose of them? They demand to be picked up, held in my hands or against my breast, and re-animated in my memory or imagination. This is the case even for the items that are broken or scarred – or in some cases because they are broken or scarred. The scars that I rued when they happened (like those scratches on my guitar) are now the reason I treasure those objects. Of course, this is why my basement is a long way from being cleaned out, but the struggle has inspired this month’s song.
A while ago, my songwriting friend Cosy Sheridan shared this beautiful poem with me.
The Way It Is
by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Over and over we break
open, we break and
we break and we open.
For a while, we try to fix
the vessel—as if
to be broken is bad.
As if with glue and tape
and a steady hand we
might bring things to perfect
again. As if they were ever
perfect. As if to be broken is not
also perfect. As if to be open
is not the path toward joy.
The vase that’s been shattered
and cracked will never
hold water. Eventually
it will leak. And at some
point, perhaps, we decide
that we’re done with picking
our flowers anyway, and no
longer need a place to contain them
We watch them grow just
as wildflowers do—unfenced,
unmanaged, blossoming only
when they’re ready—and mygod,
how beautiful they are amidst
the mounting pile of shards.
(Reprinted with permission of the poet, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. See Naked for Tea (Able Muse Press, 2018)
And on this same subject, here is Alice Walker reading her wonderful poem “I Will Keep Broken Things”.
From my struggles to clean out my basement, and the inspiration of these beautiful poets, came my song “To Love a Broken Thing.”
“Can we hold it in our hearts
To love a broken thing?”
Sing on!
Tom
(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)
Featured Non-profit: American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union works tirelessly in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the Constitution’s promise of liberty for everyone in our country. Their work is more important than ever.
Please join me in supporting the ACLU.
Tom
September 3, 2024To Love a Broken Thing
© 2024 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
It’s hard sometimes to turn the page
If you love a broken thing
To discard it when it shows its age
If you love a broken thing
A cracked and weathered baseball mitt
Your Teddy bear with the seams all split
You never would give up on it
If you love a broken thing
Of course you’d try to make repairs
When you love a broken thing
Your daughter’s art etched in Grampa’s chair
When you love a broken thing
Those scuff marks made by your dancing son
Your guitar is scratched where he learned to strum
But you cherish those scars, every one
When you love a broken thing
Don’t get me wrong I’m well aware that there are scars caused by real pain
Why shouldn’t they receive the same?
Every person that you’ll meet
Is a kind of broken thing
The rock star, the athlete
Is a kind of broken thing
The rich, the poor, the very smart
You and I have damaged parts
Can we hold it in our hearts
To love a broken thing?
To love a broken thing?
Daniel Kelly
September 3, 2024Beautiful song Tom, my house is full of broken things, and we have only been here 18 years. And great to find your website!
Tom
September 7, 2024Very special coming from a fellow songwriter and lover of old songs. Thank you for listening, my Ausie friend.
Kim
September 3, 2024Yes-Those broken things are the keepers of precious memories! 💖
Tom
September 7, 2024Bless the broken things, Kim.
Leslie
September 3, 2024I’ve also been cleaning our basement, so the two poems and your song really resonated with me. Many broken things. All I have from my maternal grandfather are two wooden duck decoys with worn paint and loose heads that spin around. It’s never occurred to me to have them repaired, because this is how he last knew them, and I can’t imagine giving or throwing them away. So there they stay in the basement among all the other broken things. Your song is perfect, though. Thank you!
Tom
September 7, 2024Oh this touches my sweet spot, Lesley… especially the “loose heads” comment. Hugs.
Jon McAuliffe
September 3, 2024I must admit, I think about the topic of this song all the time. My wife, Patti, is always trying to get me to throw out “old junk and stuff,” which covers a lot of territory. I hang on to most things that evoke old memories, especially the memories I’ve forgotten, until they’re re-invoked by old objects that revive them. It’s hopeless, really. I have such a hard time getting rid of things that take me back to other times. There are, indeed, quite valuable.
Tom
September 7, 2024I’m right there with you Jon.
Galen
September 5, 2024This is beautiful, Tom.
I sometimes think I love broken things the most,
maybe because I sense they need the most love.
Tom
September 7, 2024Beautiful sentiment, Galen. Thank you for that.
Marlene
September 5, 2024Love your new song, Tom. I have many things around my home that mean so much to me – only me. My daughter’s first doll (she’s 38 now), the shirt my dad loved the most, my little dog’s collar (he’s been gone 15 years), photographs I’ve taken through the years (matted, framed, hanging on my walls)! I do make room for new things, but some things from the past are just non-negotiable. They stay. They’re reminders of special moments that I enjoy reliving – moments that have been tattooed on my heart. Yes, some of these things may be broken – others just old; but the joy I feel when I see them, hold them – brings a smile from my heart to a smile on my face. Love your songs, Tom. Keep singing!
Tom
September 7, 2024Thank you for listening deeply, Marlene. Looks like we are walking the same path.