This lovely poem was written by Bela-Lisa Friedman, who happens to be both a talented writer and my sister. A beautifully heartfelt poem describing how even when love may not be detectable to our senses, when we have doubts, our heart knows. When she showed it to me I immediately felt it needed music. In the Solitude of Sounds was originally the opening of a larger song cycle One Into One. It is often performed as a separate song as well. The elaborate and virtuosic piano part is an attempt to capture the shifting emotions bubbling under the surface. Susan Naruki, who commissioned the song, and Allison Voth premiered the work at Miller Theatre in New York City.

I was sitting all alone
very late at night
silence was my company
darkness was my light
And in the solitude of sounds
of sleepers all around
I was trying to find the words
to explain to you how I felt inside
how my life became my guide
how my joy and pain
ebbed like the dark ocean’s tide
and I couldn’t hear your answers
or see your face
or feel your heart

can only fantasize
what you feel
or what you think
I am often mesmerized
by visions of
your dark, dark, brown eyes
while walking down a crowded street
or having soundly fallen asleep
or listening to an elusive beat
of another’s beating heart

I was sitting all alone
very late at night
silence was my company
darkness was my light
And in the solitude of sounds
of sleepers all around
I was trying to find the words
to tell to you how I felt inside
when all at once
the warmth of love
took me like a tide
and it didn’t really matter
what you said, or what I said
I couldn’t hear your answers
For I felt them in my heart

© 1988 Bela Lisa Friedman