An Evening Poem

Set the poetry of Joseph Smith, Emerson Ead’s beautiful song “An Evening Poem” is available in both baritone and tenor ranges.

An Evening Poem

An Evening Poem
What now, my friend, brings to mind these gentle thoughts of you?
The evening sun drenching my cozy room?
Or late summer vegetables, sautéed, now simmering in a rich, dark broth?
The crickets song and lazy flight of birds sheltering for the night bring
These homeward thoughts which I feel now,
So deeply in love I know not how.
These endearing thoughts of moments spent
Enriching,
Encouraging,
Enjoying One another.
These are the thoughts which bring you now to mind, my friend.
And for you, I long and love.
Joseph Smith
September 20, 2017

Program Note
While in graduate school at The University of Notre Dame there were two gentlemen who were like family to me, David Eicher and his husband, Joe Smith. David sought me out after a rehearsal with the South Bend Chamber Singers, he handed me this poem that Joe had written for his birthday the previous year and asked if he could commission me to set it to music for Joe’s upcoming birthday. I set the poem and Nolan Carter premiered it at a private birthday party
for Joe, accompanied by his husband, David, in 2017. —Emerson Eads