An Ode to Bubblewrap was written for Stephanie Lamprea and premiered on Youtube in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The singer performs a simple notated part for bubblewrap.

Duration: ca. 4:30

Poem: "An Ode to Bubble Wrap" by U.K. poet Miki Byrne, used with permission.

http://www.mikibyrnepoetry.co.uk/

AN ODE TO BUBBLEWRAP

I lift you from your box.

Unfolding you from the object you are wrapping.

Discard the item you were protecting.

On its journey to me-by van or train.

I hold you. Love your lightness.

Feel the plump blisters that cover your skin.

Wonder at the way you are laminated.

Perfectly constructed with pockets of air

symmetrically captured. Soft and resilient.

My son is also entranced by you.

He grips you in his strong fists.

In his glee he snatches you from me.

Squashes you in upon your self

like a discarded newspaper, then wrings you out.

As if you were a wet cloth or the neck of a fat chicken.

You explode in a fusillade of hiccupping pops,

like a plump lady's giggle and his chuckles

play counter-point to yours.

My approach is slow. Sensuous.

I place one bubble gently between my fingers

and squeeze very slowly. Till the air is forced out of you

in a tiny percussive snap. It is oddly satisfying

and I do it again and again. Until you are depleted

and fall soft as an old duster.

I fold you into your funereal bin

and then turn to the object that you brought me.

- Miki Byrne