Forever

Audio Version by Johnny Duncan

I posted ‘Forever’ back in May as part of a bigger post titled ‘Forever & Other Poems’. Now Johnny Duncan has set it to music, using AI, as he did with my previous post ‘Entering the River’, and once again I’m awed and amazed by the result. In my opinion, the female voice on this recording - which I affectionately call Ostara - blends so perfectly with the lyrics that I have no doubt that they belong together, and somehow create something of profound beauty. I hope that readers and listeners agree. All comments are most welcome.

Forever

We are way out here on the edge
of town,
and a breathless, gushing ocean
clings to your tidewash of shards.

We are way out here on the edge
of darkness,
and your smile assuages
all the graves on the hill.

We are way out here on the edge
of tomorrow,
and other lives come back to us
from the spindrift of another time.

We are way out here on the edge
of love,
and you have been forever the wind
that carries all my songs.

(Piano interlude. Repeat verses 3&4.
Fade out, with piano echoing the sounds of the wind.)

Lyrics by Martin Mc Carthy. Engineered by Johnny Duncan

Author’s note:
‘Forever, was originally published by The Chained Muse,
and will be featured on theHyperTexts.com in October.

Martin Mc Carthy is a contributing editor to the American poetry website, The HyperTexts. He lives in Cork City, Ireland, where he studied English at UCC and was awarded the H. Dip. in Education. His poems and essays have appeared in numerous print and online publications, including: Poems from My 5k, Drawn to the Light, Seventh Quarry Poetry, Poetry Salzburg, The Road Not Taken, The Lyric, The Orchards, WestWard Quarterly, Lighten Up Online, Better Than Starbucks, The Madrigal, The Chained Muse, New Lyre, The HyperTexts, The New Stylus, Southward and The Cathal Buí Anthology of Poetry. He has published three poetry collections: Lockdown Diary (2020), Lockdown (2021), and The Perfect Voice (2023). A fourth collection, The Book of Desire, is currently awaiting publication. He was shortlisted for the Red Line Poetry Prize, and is a nominee for the 2024 Pushcart Prize. He has a personal website at mccarthypoet.com