Figs, Fogelbergs, Kiki, Herb & Yeats

I understand that Kiki & Herb have been around longer than Christ, so I suspect that Kiki was somewhat of a muse for Edna St. Vincent Millay when she penned her famous poem, “First Fig”
My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends-
It gives such glorious light.
Little did Edna know that Kiki’s candle would burn and burn and burn… And burn and burn… A “light in the blackout” indeed.
I’d like to say that as a child I stole my parents Dan Fogelberg records and listened to them over and over again. “Run for the Roses?” Are you kidding me with that ridiculous and lovely song, Mr. Fogelberg? No, I thought not. So, I’m not sure what it says about me that I know all the lyrics to Fogelberg’s “Same Auld Lang Syne,” but I do know that changing the song into a touching and poignant story of a mother reuniting with her mother was not only genuinely moving and funny- it demonstrated a moment of brilliance from Kiki and Herb.
Two hours is a huge amount of time to fill. Moments of drifting should not be unexpected. For me, it’s all about the finish. If you hit me hard in the last twenty minutes, I am all yours. A fault of mine I’m sure, but- Oh well. From now on every time I hear totally eclipse of the heart I will think of W.B. Yeats. What? That’s messed up. Messed up, but true.
posted by P.A. Coleman