Renee Ashley (pictured) is a phenomenal poet, one who breaks rules, challenges conventions, and leaves her readers changed. I discovered the poem “[you]” shortly after my mom left her body; its words rang in my head during those sleepless nights, both comforting and haunting me.

Rumi’s poem, the spoken-word intro to this song, also resonated with me during this time. I found the concept of a thousand barrels of wine to be wonderfully absurd, and I loved the idea of being so genuinely apathetic that nothing mattered beyond those barrels. The whole thing had a playful feel to it, yet I sensed something sinister there. I ended up putting the two poems together, turning “You, Ruminating” into a place to explore and transform my grief, and into one of my favorite songs from my band’s recent album, One Day,

Want to hear more of our songs? Check out The Brooklyn Players Reading Society at:

Website: thebprs.com
Bandcamp: The BPRS
YouTube: The Brooklyn Players Reading Society