Available Editions:

Free PDF Editions:

• The Water Grasses - High Voice.pdf

About "The Water Grasses"

Alas, the place that this poem talks about no longer exists. There was a canal that ran along the road north of the BYU Museum of Art. I used to walk along that road on the way out to the parking lot where I usually left my car. The canal was filled with the most beautiful water grasses and mosses and surrounded by lawns and trees; green all over. It was truly picturesque. Unfortunately, in the name of water conservation, the canal has been put underground in a pipe. We may enjoy the water, but no longer the beauty.

I wrote this song for a dear friend, soprano Clara Hurtado Lee, who gave the song’s premiere. It has since been smoothed out in a couple of places. There were some transitions that I was never happy about until I reworked them in February of 2008. This is why it is only available now, for the first time, 8 years after it was premiered.

Recordings:

At this time there are no recordings available. Send your live recording to be posted here. I’ll be glad to link back to your singer site. Contact info is listed in each edition of the piece.

The Text:

The Water Grasses by M Ryan Taylor 

The water grasses flow gently in the stream,
they softly sway left to right and back again.
I wonder at their permanence in the flow of constantly moving water.
The water grasses flow in the stream.

The seed of these grasses, long since rooted in cool mud,
tenaciously hold in place as the plant grows with the sunlight and the nourishment of the soil.
It is so beautiful, green, and speaks to me of a contented life.

I have become somewhat like the water grasses.
I am happy.