Here's the challenge:
Lose yourself in this.
That sheet covered
in black lines and circles.
Translate that
into something beautiful
(and don't let the sixteenths scare you too much
your fingers move at the speed of light, right?)
Hours pass
at 100 beats per minute.
You never once so much as look up
let alone stop to eat or breathe.
Music
is all the sustenance you need.
Time to take a break
Move from Mozart to Holst
from Holst to Rochut.
(More of a break?
Try a bigger mouthpiece)
Nothing can reach you here
in this practice room.
Trapped alone with dead composers,
their efforts swirling around,
a flurry of pianissimo snowflakes
bringing the piece to a halt for the moment.
Instrument is set aside for the night
only to begin anew tomorrow
and tomorrow
and tomorrow.
Author notes
For the most part inspired by Mozart's bassoon concerto. Sorta went from that to the exasperation of having to prepare for many many things all at once.
A contest entry
- ah, music! a magic greater than all we do here... by nanashiamai.
600 points, ended November 3, 2007, 10 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
-
Congratulations on your trophy, it is well deserved.
-
it is like this in reality - the practice and preparation times are seemingly the most difficult, guess it has to be - the perfomance demands of us the best effort.
blessings and best wishes,
~r.
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awesome. i love this absolutely. the way you wove in the little nit-picky things of the sheet music to just the experience of playing; this sounds like a day in my life (only i'm a voice major, so i wouldn't play but sing). but yeah...hours in the practice room is pretty much a reality.
this is lovely. best of luck to you in this and all your poetry endeavors.
~pasha -
Wonderful! The first four stanzas are absolutely beautiful. It comes a little bit untied as you move into it a little bit, but that probably reflects your mood. "Hours pass/at 100 beats per minute." BRILLIANT. and also, "Here's the challenge:/Lose yourself in this." and the sixteenth note joke is great. Poetic and cynical all it once. wondefully written.
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