I Know What I'm Missing

Lyrics: James Fenton
Music: Tim Dennehy
Harmony Vocals: Áine Derrane
Guitar: Garry O'Briain
Viola: Jesse Smith
Cello: Liz Johnston

James Fenton was born in Lincoln and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1983. He was elected Oxford University Professor of Poetry in May 1994. The poem is printed here in its original form as it appeared in the collection, 'Out of Danger' (Penguin) which won the 1994 Whitbread Award for Poetry. It has become a close and loving companion. My thanks to poets Bernard O'Donoghue and James Fenton.

It's a birdcall from the treeline.
I hear it every day.
It's the loveliest of the songbirds
And I'm glad it comes this way
And I stop to listen
And forget what I've to do
And I know what I'm missing-
My friend
My friend.

It's a fluttering in the palm fronds
With a flash of black and gold.
It's the whistling of the oriole
And its beauty turns me cold
And I stop to listen
And forget what I've to do
And I know what I'm missing-
My friend
My friend.

Do you wonder if I'll remember?
Do you wonder where I'll be?
I'll be home again next winter
And I hope you'll write to me.
When the branches glisten
And the frost is on the avenue
I'll know what I'm missing-
My friend
My friend
I'm missing you.