you’re not you

Miranda Campbell’s writing is full of rich language and evocative images. To me, this passage emulates the “stream-of-consciousness,” sometimes non-sensical, inner dialogue I often have with myself. The interplay between the flute and voice primarily represent that conflicted internal dialogue, while the guitar and violin primarily function as timbral manifestations of the poetic images.

In my interpretation, the narrator is contemplating the earth and its “sylvan hillside” in contrast to the “mounds of asphalt” and “worm-ridden pavement,” almost as though the “you” the narrator is referring to is the Earth she no longer recognizes. In the last line, the narrator realizes that she, and those around her, contributed to the destructive images she’s been pondering. I attempted to musically illustrate Campbell’s evocative images while maintaining a sense of the dream-like, surreal state that often accompanies our inner-dialogue. I encourage the performers to find their own interpretations of this evocative text.