Indie folk
song about Billy Mills, 1964 Olymic Gold Medal winner--still perhaps the greatest upset in modern Olymphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8BOHdaADJIic history
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Friday, June 19, 2026
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
"Ballpark Figures," by Hans Ostrom (baseball poem)
Pitcher:
He or she has just discovered the North Pole
and, behind the back, holds a snowball,
glowering down at the world.
Catcher:
The amalgam.
Body, a badger's.
Face, a prisoner's.
Legs, a knight's.
One arm, a deaf person's.
The other arm, a crab's.
Umpire:
An angry parent
yelling at the kids,
who just want to play.
Outfielders:
Three deer graze in a meadow.
A shot rings out.
They raise their heads.
They're on the move.
First Base:
A hometown kid.
Rarely leaves the house
but entertains a lot.
Dugout:
A rookery.
One bird leaves.
The others rearrange themselves.
Crowd:
Wildflowers on a terraced slope.
Blotches of paint.
A chorus of bees.
Third Base:
This one guards a thin white line.
An accountant.
Foul or fair. Profit or loss.
Second Base:
The bull charges.
The bullfighter whirls and leaps.
Shortstop:
Holds dual citizenship.
Travels a lot.
Rents, doesn't own.
Not a joiner.
Vendor:
An evangelist.
Base Coaches:
Performance artists,
gossips, and hired applauders.
Pitching Coach:
A lachrymose intermediary.
Managers:
When they arise from the basement,
it means trouble has come.
Adults forced to wear children's clothes.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Friday, June 12, 2026
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Friday, May 29, 2026
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Monday, May 25, 2026
Saturday, May 23, 2026
"Vampire Blues," Lyrics by Hans Ostrom
"really, what is all this vamipirin' for?"
fast electric blues
Friday, May 22, 2026
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Monday, May 18, 2026
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Saturday, May 16, 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Monday, May 4, 2026
Sunday, May 3, 2026
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Druid song: "Song of Amergins," set to music
Legendary pre-Christian Irish song, druidic, translated by Douglas Hyde: grateful acknowledgement.
Set to electronic music with a tribal flavor.
Friday, May 1, 2026
Old Light
Yes, it's sad
when the body
can no longer carry
mind and soul and itself
any farther, any longer.
It is a vehicle.
It does break down.
So the mind mourns.
It yearns
for the days when
the body was lithe--
and so much stronger.
There is acceptance
and wit in the faces
of old folks
sitting in parks and piazzas
and homes for the old
worldwide. And light.
There is still light
in the faces and smiles,
and the eyes--yes,
light, which could be
traced back
to that original explosion,
expression, of matter's light,
in the begiining.
can no longer carry
mind and soul and itself
any farther, any longer.
It is a vehicle.
It does break down.
So the mind mourns.
It yearns
for the days when
the body was lithe--
and so much stronger.
There is acceptance
and wit in the faces
of old folks
sitting in parks and piazzas
and homes for the old
worldwide. And light.
There is still light
in the faces and smiles,
and the eyes--yes,
light, which could be
traced back
to that original explosion,
expression, of matter's light,
in the begiining.
--Hans Ostrom 2026
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Monday, April 27, 2026
Friday, April 24, 2026
Thursday, April 23, 2026
"The Taxi," by Amy Lowell, set to progressive house electronic music
first published 1914
minimally adapted (some repeated lines)
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Monday, April 20, 2026
Friday, April 17, 2026
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
"She's So Smooth and Cool," by Keith Ledbetter
lyrics by Hans Ostrom
smooth jazz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1y7kY6ifPU&list=RDk1y7kY6ifPU&start_radio=1
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Monday, April 13, 2026
Sunday, April 12, 2026
"Steel Mills," by Langston Hughes, set to music and vocals
Langston Hughes pro-labor poem from 1925
set to rock music and vocals
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Friday, April 10, 2026
Thursday, April 9, 2026
"The Heart of a Woman," by Georgia Douglas Johnson, set to music & videos
afro house electronic setting of Johnson's poem
Johnson (1884=1966) was an important poet, editor, and novelis of the era and movement now known as the Harlem Renaissance
click
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
"The Mystery (How Little We Know)," by Sara Teasdale, set to music/vocals
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
electronic ballad--poem set to music
click
Monday, April 6, 2026
"Yes, You're a Hero"
Yes, You're a Hero
by Hans Ostrom
set to music and vocals via suno. ai [I know: sacrilege] and posted on soundcloud and youtube-- langstonify channel
(folksong lyric)
Sometimes just getting out of bed
and going to your job makes you a hero.
There's so much awful out there.
Your hope might be reaching zero.
You might be a trucker or a nurse.
You might be a baker. You get up first.
Could be you're a builder or a plumber or a drummer
in a local band. A woman or a man
who drives a bus. All of you help us.
You get us through. That's what you do.
The country is made of millions of pieces.
Lots of trades and skills and hearts.
Lots of parts with beating hearts.
You might be a prof teaching classes about cells.
Maybe a farmer or a picker on that farm
or a responder racing to a place of harm.
You could be a welder or an elder.
Babysitting kids, you get us through.
That's what you do. The country is made
of millions of pieces. Lots of trades and skills
and arts. Lots of parts with beating hearts.
You might be a cleaner or one who brings the news.
Maybe you're a doctor or a scientist looking for the clues.
You could work as a mechanic or a fry cook there in the back.
You might be a teacher or fix a creature.
Whatever your job, whatever your calling,
you're part of a hole that keeps the entire
thing from falling. from ripping all apart.
You could be a checker or drive a recorder.
Maybe cut hair, sell hardware, or build a chair.
Perhaps a server or an observer or a preserver of knowledge.
Can't list every task, post or position, from recycling to mortician.
Whatever you do, you get us through. That takes lots
of learning and years. Blood and sweat and tears.
Skills and hearts and brains and heart. The ones at the top
should get their heads right and do what's best for you.
Because you get us through. That's what you do. So, thank you.
Yeah. Thank you.
Sometimes just getting out of bed
and going to your job makes you a hero.
There's so much awful out there.
Your hope might be reaching zero.
You might be a trucker or a nurse.
You might be a baker. You get up first.
Could be you're a builder or a plumber or a drummer
in a local band. A woman or a man
who drives a bus. All of you help us.
You get us through. That's what you do.
The country is made of millions of pieces.
Lots of trades and skills and hearts.
Lots of parts with beating hearts.
You might be a prof teaching classes about cells.
Maybe a farmer or a picker on that farm
or a responder racing to a place of harm.
You could be a welder or an elder.
Babysitting kids, you get us through.
That's what you do. The country is made
of millions of pieces. Lots of trades and skills
and arts. Lots of parts with beating hearts.
You might be a cleaner or one who brings the news.
Maybe you're a doctor or a scientist looking for the clues.
You could work as a mechanic or a fry cook there in the back.
You might be a teacher or fix a creature.
Whatever your job, whatever your calling,
you're part of a hole that keeps the entire
thing from falling. from ripping all apart.
You could be a checker or drive a recorder.
Maybe cut hair, sell hardware, or build a chair.
Perhaps a server or an observer or a preserver of knowledge.
Can't list every task, post or position, from recycling to mortician.
Whatever you do, you get us through. That takes lots
of learning and years. Blood and sweat and tears.
Skills and hearts and brains and heart. The ones at the top
should get their heads right and do what's best for you.
Because you get us through. That's what you do. So, thank you.
Yeah. Thank you.
Hans Ostrom 2026
set to music and vocals via suno. ai [I know: sacrilege] and posted on soundcloud and youtube-- langstonify channel
Sunday, April 5, 2026
Friday, April 3, 2026
"Neither Out Far Nor In Deep," by Robert Frost, set to music
folk rock treatment of Robert Frost's famous poem
minimal adaptation (some repeated words)
set to music/voclas via suno.com ai with prompts from Hans Ostrom
click
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
"Rock a Broken Heart," by Hans Ostrom, Lyrics
"If he broke up with you, then he's dumber than a stump."
country rock
click
"Night of the Mermaid," by Hans Ostrom, Lyrics
Goth Rock version of a previously posted one. Inspired by American painter Howard Pyle's famous painting, "The Mermaid" (1910)
click
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
"The Blue Mermaid," Lyrics by Hans Ostrom
Electronic ballad-folk story song, inspired by American painter's Howard Pyle's painting "The Mermaid" (1910).
click
Monday, March 30, 2026
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Friday, March 27, 2026
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Monday, March 23, 2026
"Love and Sleep," by Algernon Charles Swingburne
a rather famous amorous poem by Swinburne (1837-1909)
set to easy-beat electronic music/vocals
click
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Friday, March 20, 2026
Thursday, March 19, 2026
Sunday, March 15, 2026
Saturday, March 14, 2026
"Sea-Fever," by John Masefield set to music
folk-song setting for Masefield's famous sailing poem
click
Friday, March 13, 2026
"A Capitalist at Dinner," by Claude McKay
Satirical poem by Jamaican-American poety Claude McKay (1890-1948) first published in The Liberatore in 1919. Set to electronic music. McKay was part of the Harlem Renaissance.
click
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Monday, March 9, 2026
"My Foolish Pride," by Roger Illsley
Lyrics by Roger Illsley. Music by Roger Illsley and Hans Ostrom. Roger: guitar Hans: piano
click
Sunday, March 8, 2026
"The House on the Hill," Edwin Arlington Robinson, set to music
set to folk-rock song
poem in villanelle form
Robinson: 1869-1935
click
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
"Hold On, Keep Going," Lyrics by Hans Ostrom
tough, tough times: but hold on, keeping going
power-rock-ballad
click
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Death and Joy
for the memory of W.B.
A longtime historian
friend, gold-standard trained
at Harvard, Cambridge, Yale,
has gone down hard:
neurological nightmare:
bodily and mental collapse.
Before the finale,
he said he was losing
big chunks of memory
like a glacier
calving blocks of ice.
Flip-flopping like a minor
sea monter in a water-
aerobics class to
"maintain health," you
obsess about your
friend's brutal rotting
and death. You look over
to another pool and see
a Black grandpa holding
a toddler in a swim-class.
He's shaved bald
with a trimmed gray beard:
a griot look you like.
You saw him before
and said, "I have a grandson
that age--isn't it great?"
"It is the greatest," he said.
Now you see again
his look of supreme joy
as he helps the kid
float. Joy and vicious
decay, along the way.
Are they supposed
to balance out?
Well, it's not math--
it's life. And death. Just
the way things are. You're glad
you glanced over to that other
blue pool as you wallowed.
friend, gold-standard trained
at Harvard, Cambridge, Yale,
has gone down hard:
neurological nightmare:
bodily and mental collapse.
Before the finale,
he said he was losing
big chunks of memory
like a glacier
calving blocks of ice.
Flip-flopping like a minor
sea monter in a water-
aerobics class to
"maintain health," you
obsess about your
friend's brutal rotting
and death. You look over
to another pool and see
a Black grandpa holding
a toddler in a swim-class.
He's shaved bald
with a trimmed gray beard:
a griot look you like.
You saw him before
and said, "I have a grandson
that age--isn't it great?"
"It is the greatest," he said.
Now you see again
his look of supreme joy
as he helps the kid
float. Joy and vicious
decay, along the way.
Are they supposed
to balance out?
Well, it's not math--
it's life. And death. Just
the way things are. You're glad
you glanced over to that other
blue pool as you wallowed.
Hans Ostrom 2026
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Sunday, February 22, 2026
"Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known," by William Wordsworth
One of his famous "Lucy" poems turned into a folk song:
click
Saturday, February 21, 2026
"La Belle Dame Sans Merci," by John Keats, set to music
Keats's famous ballad (1819) sung and set to music via suno.com with prompts from Hans Ostrom
w/ video
click
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Monday, February 16, 2026
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Monday, February 9, 2026
Saturday, February 7, 2026
The Superb Owl
reposting one from 2015
(super bowl)
What is this superb owl
that everyone's talking about?
It sounds fantastic. I would
like to watch it, to see it glide
in moonlight across
a clearing, alighting in a grove.
Well, yes, of course, we may hold
a superb owl press-conference
and attend superb owl parties!
I don't yet know what in particular
the superb owl even better
than other owls I've seen.
I will not quit until I find out.
In the meantime, let be known
that near barns and in woods,
in city parks and gullies,
on plains and in mountains,
I am a fan of the superb owl,
its perfect wingspan cutting
silently, like longing,
through the air.
hans ostrom
copyright 2015
Friday, February 6, 2026
"Two Secrets," Lyrics by Hans Ostrom--Folk Rock
He kept one secrets and finally shared a second one . . . .
click on link
"Song of Solomon: Canto 7," rendered in a soul-jazz/R&B song
A Canto often noted for its sensual, erotic qualities.
click on link
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Monday, February 2, 2026
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Friday, January 30, 2026
Thursday, January 29, 2026
In No Time At All
In a time designated September,
among short pine trees, and feeling
the high mountain heat, I look
across a deeply gashed canyon
and a thousand years--not time at all!--
to small homes people made
in gaps of limestone,
with sandstone rocks for
outer walls. Overhead,
crows, ravens, and hawks
whirl, riding the updrafts
of hot air. How quiet the Sanagua
generations must of have been.
I imagine murmurs and giggling,
sometimes overlain with shrieks
of illness or birthing cries. Little
traceries of smoke rising from
cook fires. People working to live.
I turn away from all the history
hiding in those crafted caves,
look down at a lichen-etched rock,
walk to the paved parking lot
to drive--in no time at all!--the roaring
machine back to Flagstaff and
its massive crops of housing.
Hans Ostrom 2023/2025
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Dragonflies of Medicine
Physicians, doctors, remind me
of dragonflies. Large heads--
metaphorically. Complicated
engineering, motions fluid
and not. Often irridescent--
in self-regard. The main thing
is they never land for long. In
a room and out. Perched some
distance from the bedside,
then gone. Visible in a doorway--
then vanished. Flashing in,
flashing out, caught by bright
lights, but only for a snapshot.
It's as if they regard the patient--
the one who waits for everything--
as a potential predator. It's as if
physicians play a game of tag.
Tag, you're it, patient. You are
always It, not me.
of dragonflies. Large heads--
metaphorically. Complicated
engineering, motions fluid
and not. Often irridescent--
in self-regard. The main thing
is they never land for long. In
a room and out. Perched some
distance from the bedside,
then gone. Visible in a doorway--
then vanished. Flashing in,
flashing out, caught by bright
lights, but only for a snapshot.
It's as if they regard the patient--
the one who waits for everything--
as a potential predator. It's as if
physicians play a game of tag.
Tag, you're it, patient. You are
always It, not me.
hans ostrom 2026
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Monday, January 26, 2026
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Friday, January 23, 2026
Thursday, January 22, 2026
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Monday, January 19, 2026
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
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