75. As-Zahir – The Star

Suggests manifest, evident, radiant ---
'burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman 
candles exploding like spiders across the stars' Jack Kerouac  

Chaconne

He walks along in personal space
- now - worry a lot,
because there’s a violin case in his left hand.
You never know what’s in a case like that!?

The man stands up and grunts, and starts.
He lightens up strings
as if Bach is here, now,
in present tense: string-tense: a sigh.

Hear sixty three repeating bases,
respectful, alert:
stabbing a bow;
roundabout bow

of melody, rhythm and chord,
like Hopkins he springs
triumphantly tragic;
grief is Bach’s pain!

Alone! And hear his bent-arm pull
being scratched by a touch:
homecoming earth-time;
heavenly business.

A solitary man gyrates
and puppets in dance,
grieving, he’s busy,
- a lonely string screams.

It’s unexpected – Bach’s wife’s death.
Let’s grieve like a Bach;
screech in a bow-string,
grieving vibration.

But Bach is up now – lifting now,
envisioning hope.
Play us to ecstasy:
Heaven - and Earth!

Has anything changed since that breath?
A man and his bow,
back in its case, away, walking away
from personal space – now.

Star

I’ll pen a little poem

maybe a Sonnet to stun

for the first few lines and then

turn in a new direction;

settling some innocent frame,

feeling for slowing the pace,

spinning a gut or a brain,

spiraling up and away.

Can we word-walk a moment

stuttering fast but metric,

capturing meaning from sense,

rippling along - majestic.

Smaller – growing bigger -

galaxy - nebula - Star.