the rock face

The Rock Face

a cappella SSAATTBB

The Rock Face is a choral reflection on the themes of self-empowerment, control, and growth. The text uses many examples of natural imagery to represent the self as something that has immense power to change and shape both the world around it and its own circumstances. This can be done through both action and inaction, either of which has the ability to be intense as well as serene. The piece breaks apart this text to explore these processes of destruction and growth.

The Rock Face, by Stephen Deeter

I am the rock face
The surface of my stone carved out by the wind and the rain
My cataracts and ventifacts are tattoos of my geology
I am the rock face

I am the rain cloud
The torrents that shear and shred my walls were borne in my body
I quench the wasteland, hydrate their veins
I am the rain cloud

I am the peat moss
The patterns of my growth were written over many million years
My leaves and spores will grow new life and give it to the wind
I am the peat moss

I am not the mountains that crawl past
I am just the shadows that they cast