Two poems dedicated to opera

On Hearing Verdi’s Requiem

Fragile beauty gives way to pulsating fluctuations

enigmatic expressions of epic grief

Such is the end of an era of beauty

that surrenders to the ravages of time

To live again in each performance

trumpeted scenes of past grandeur

The bass-baritone undertone of the sinister

single beating echoes in the caves of darkness

Soprano sketching out expansive emotion

 she holds each note in the flux of heaven

Chorus connects to human consciousness

humming the grieving  reaction to a death

As the punctured skin bleeds

so too does the wounded soul sigh

and in these sighs, one hears music.

On hearing him play: An ode to musicianship

(Dedicated to T.P)

Steinway voluptuousness

poised seductively upon the stage

Spotlit footsteps disrupt the moment of admiration

pages turn to the beginning

the anticipation felt as musical inspiration is inhaled

beauteous voice exhaled

Seeing him play

beholding a dreamer’s dream

voyeuristic fantasy

he is not here

he has stolen the moment to share

with his beloved, Music

in an intimate embrace

Hearing him play

flawless interpretation boldly resonates

how could each note echo a heartbeat?

lest it is from the one heart

as familiar voice whispers

sensuous secrets to delight

each nuance fully expressed

Remembering the moment

emotions evoked

the inner pool stirred with each finger

stillness rippled by the dimensions of emotion

the body recalls

visceral performance

shaped by the hands of an artist.