My poems used to live on paper, resting quietly in notebooks. Then one day, I lifted them off the page, gave them wings, and watched them fly into the world as songs. “Notebook 2 Air” is the transformation — poet to songwriter, Billy Mac to Poetry Wizard. “Ink learning to breathe.”This is a beautiful meditation on the transformation of poetry into song and the essential unity between the two art forms. I describe the sacred, almost alchemical process of taking written words from their "paper bed" and giving them new life through music—"awakening" them from "a quiet death" with guitar strings and piano. The imagery of leather-bound journals stacked high, each containing "an open door," suggests years of accumulated work waiting to be unlocked and shared in a different form. There's reverence for both crafts: poetry as "a poet's prayer" and song as "a singer's calls," yet I do recognize they come from "the same heart beating through two different walls." The metaphor of being "the bridge between two languages" captures the role of me, “Billy Mac” as the poet-songwriter who doesn't see these as separate disciplines but as different expressions of the same creative impulse. What's particularly striking is the idea that the music was always latent in the poems—"the hidden melody it never said"—suggesting that the conversion isn't a betrayal or dilution but a revelation of something that was always there. The process is described with discipline and intentionality ("joy, love, and discipline, but never with rage"), elevating it beyond casual dabbling to devoted craft. It's ultimately about honoring words by setting them free, allowing them to "climb,” “rejoice," and reach people in ways the written page alone cannot. WILLIAM MACRIS, aka Billy Mac the Poetry Wizard!
Conditions of Use Privacy Notice Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure Your Ads Privacy Choices © 1996-2026, Inc. or its affiliates Copyrighted Material
My poems used to live on paper, resting quietly in notebooks. Then one day, I lifted them off the page, gave them wings, and watched them fly into the world as songs. “Notebook 2 Air” is the transformation — poet to songwriter, Billy Mac to Poetry Wizard. “Ink learning to breathe.”This is a beautiful meditation on the transformation of poetry into song and the essential unity between the two art forms. I describe the sacred, almost alchemical process of taking written words from their "paper bed" and giving them new life through music—"awakening" them from "a quiet death" with guitar strings and piano. The imagery of leather-bound journals stacked high, each containing "an open door," suggests years of accumulated work waiting to be unlocked and shared in a different form. There's reverence for both crafts: poetry as "a poet's prayer" and song as "a singer's calls," yet I do recognize they come from "the same heart beating through two different walls." The metaphor of being "the bridge between two languages" captures the role of me, “Billy Mac” as the poet-songwriter who doesn't see these as separate disciplines but as different expressions of the same creative impulse. What's particularly striking is the idea that the music was always latent in the poems—"the hidden melody it never said"—suggesting that the conversion isn't a betrayal or dilution but a revelation of something that was always there. The process is described with discipline and intentionality ("joy, love, and discipline, but never with rage"), elevating it beyond casual dabbling to devoted craft. It's ultimately about honoring words by setting them free, allowing them to "climb,” “rejoice," and reach people in ways the written page alone cannot. WILLIAM MACRIS, aka Billy Mac the Poetry Wizard!
Conditions of Use Privacy Notice Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure Your Ads Privacy Choices © 1996-2026, Inc. or its affiliates Copyrighted Material
Explore a curated collection of audio moments—from interviews to soundscapes—designed to inform, inspire, and engage. Whether you're here to learn, reflect, or just enjoy, our audio selections offer something for every listener.