Exploring the Power of Music in Prose and Poetry
Linda Crampton is a former teacher who enjoys reading and creative writing. She likes classical literature, fantasy, myth, and poetry.
A Powerful Connection
The link between music, mood, and memory fascinates me. I have experienced the link and its power multiple times in my life. The musical notes on a piece of paper can sometimes become something magical when they are played by skilled musicians. They are often capable of triggering intense emotions, which are frequently pleasant but may be sad, as I describe below in relation to real life. My poem focuses on the effect of music on a man who is trying to escape from a problem from his past. It's a fictional tale but is related to a power that really exists.
The character depicted in the poem is living with the “half a soul” mentioned in the title because he will not allow himself to remember a major conflict that needs to be examined. He has become an expert in suppressing the memories linked to the conflict if they try to emerge. He knows that he was the guilty party in the argument, and he has recently discovered that the other person involved in the situation has died. He doesn’t know how to resolve the situation that created the memory and that now seems permanently unsolvable. In a way, he is psychologically incomplete because of his refusal to acknowledge and deal with an important part of his life.
Some Potential Effects of Music on Emotions
In real life, people may be able to predict the effect of music on their minds from their prior experience, but sometimes an effect is sudden, strong, and unpredictable. For me, this is part of the fascination of music—to reveal the unexpected.
Many people can probably remember times when music cheered them up, inspired them, gave them new ideas, or at least allowed them to forget their problems for a while. Listening to music often does one or more of these things for me. I remember an experience that created the opposite effect, however. My beloved dog had recently died. I was watching a television show that was accompanied by music with lyrics. The tune, the nature of the singer's voice, and the sombre lyrics combined to create strong emotions and tears in me as it triggered memories of my dog and her life. The effect lasted for some time but eventually disappeared as I became able to deal with my dog's departure.
Researchers have explored peak emotional responses to music, including the production of chills and tears. Though more research needs to be performed and the idea may not apply to everyone, the evidence suggests that the production of tears when listening to music can sometimes have a cathartic effect. Music certainly has power, whatever its effects.

A frozen field can be an interesting place to see and can sometime be symbolic.
Felix Mittermeier, via pexels.com, CC0 public domain license
Setting the Scene in the Poem
The poem below begins in a scene much like that shown in the photo above. A cold sun hangs over a frozen field. Scattered trees at the edge of the field obscure the view of a nearby village. Occasionally, sounds from the village penetrate the silence. A traveller moves across the field, bypassing the village. He wants no contact with people or their activity. Despite his desire for isolation, he is about to encounter the power of music to awaken memories and the value of community.
Music Meets Half a Soul
Through biting cold of snow
pierced by sparkling ice,
the traveller pushed on
in search of sanctuary.
Music from a distant choir
floated into sound,
a joyful hymn of praise.
He knelt upon the frozen grass
in honour of the past.
The music swelled in power
and ripples struck his mind,
disturbing long-forgotten memories,
and sparking into life
the flames of ecstasy.
In daring wonderment
he tried to touch the sound,
to communicate with love.
Instead the voices ebbed
and then the music stopped.
He rose with difficulty
and viewed the icy scene
with sadness and with fear,
the sharpened edge of guilt
preparing to attack.
He felt the hate within,
pain's effort to expand,
and struggled fiercely in the fight
to squash the shrill demand.
Sickened by the past
he found his old ally:
the power to repel,
then pushed guilt deep within,
resistance frightening.
He shivered at success,
his foe subdued but not destroyed,
but then the music surged
and could not be denied.
Kindly threads of strength
spun by vocal notes
probed his mind with love
and pulled forgotten times of joy
from deep within his brain
and a life of innocence.
The threads became like ropes
to save him from despair.
He let them pull him in
towards the village and the choir
and their melodies of hope.
Inside the crowded church
a woman slid along a pew
and beckoned him to sit
and listen to the choir.
Powerful songs of joy
sung to him and all,
a web of glorious sounds
connecting everyone in grace
He felt his mind relax
and memories bubbled up
no longer pushed away.
Acknowledging his guilt,
he accepted life and hope.
Music as the guide
and perhaps the One,
whatever it might be,
a gateway into life,
hope richer than despair
and a comforter from pain.
© 2022 Linda Crampton