T.F. Jennings

Nameless

This campfire
            is a miniature sunrise

confined to a domed, mesh sky;
            woodsmoke and ash drilling

into the dusky rafters of dawn,
            nameless birds boring

holes into a hushed horizon
            with their fleeting songs —

each note a symphony,
            a ritual, warning; an early eulogy

for future flames, exclaiming the past is alive within us!
            rousing even our ancestors

from their tangled beds of earth and frost,
            their own noiseless songs

spiraling up in invisible plumes
            to meet us; to remind us of our names;

to sing out, to exclaim,          
            to remember we are here.

T.F. Jennings is the pseudonym of producer, songwriter, media music composer, and Pushcart Prize nominated poet, Tyler Fortier. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Fortier spent years performing under his own name sharing the stage with Frazey Ford, Dave Barnes, David Dondero, Matt Pond PA, and more. He has produced recordings for the likes of Jeffrey Martin, Anna Tivel, and Beth Wood, and as a media music composer his music has been placed all over the world. His debut EP In the Teeth of the Night was released April 30th, 2024. Fortier lives in Eugene, Oregon with his wife and two children.