Now, finally, I’ll write you a love song,
or, at least, something that we’re both
in, saying things that I should have said long
ago, and you’ll be happy to hear them.

 Now finally, I’ll say what a wonder
you are, and you’ll wonder why I never
told you that before, and I’ll ask whether
we could make a life together under

 the circumstances, which seem to have changed
since yesterday and every day since
we met each other long ago, distance
hard to measure, two lives rearranged.

 And finally, I know what we should do:
I know the song; I’ll sing it to you.

-Joyce Sutphen
used with permission by the author 

Now, Finally, A Love Song was composed and premiered as part of the 2021 Source Song Festival. It was written for and premiered by André Chiang, baritone, and Megan Barth Argo, pianist, and Tamika Sterrs-Howard, flautist, and distributed via online broadcast on August 4, 2021.

Dr. Tamika Sterrs-Howard has been a teacher of music and general education for over 16 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, a Master’s degree from Georgia State University, and a Doctorate degree from the University of Georgia. She is a state certified music teacher for grades K-12. She plays the flute, the piano, woodwind instruments, sings, writes music, and writes music research papers. She currently is an adjunct professor in Music Appreciation at Lanier Technical College.
www.tamikahoward.com

Joyce Sutphen grew up on a farm in Stearns County, Minnesota. She is a professor emeritus of English at Gustavus Adolphus College and is Minnesota’s poet laureate.

She is the author of seven poetry collections, including Straight Out of View, Coming Back to the Body, and Naming the Stars, and is a coeditor of To Sing Along the Way: Minnesota Women Poets from Pre-Territorial Days to the Present.

Joyce Sutphen serves as the first Poet-In-Residence at Source Song Festival for our 2021 Festival.