Apprentice Musician

Apprentice Musician

Notes from a piano
dropping one by one into the kitchen sink;
Notes hummed, rehummed and sung
immortalized in sprawling ink.

Cosmetics and cadences
littering the armoir.
Lyrics  clogging the air vents
and trapped in the scuff marks that ice the floor.

Crescendoes and diminuendoes hanging by ribbons
and shoelaces from the clef-stained ceiling.
Lyrics twinkling with the steam and phosphenes
that dance when you get up too quickly.

Lyrics in the mirror cracks
and under the green paint flaking the walls.
Lyrics in the shadows that
finger the picture frames in the halls.

Refrains pool with water
around mounds of sodden towels
And lilting melodies are in drawers that won’t open
tangled in wool, knitting needles and vowels.

Lyrics swaddled under the rumpled sheets
smeared along the bed.
Lyrics fished in the corner cobwebs
and moulding with the bread.

And through all this clutter
weaves a tattered song,
coaxed from the discord,
piangevole past the throng.
A tattered song about holed skies
that, when held up to the light,
shine through so you can peer into them
and – shamefacedly – watch the night
as the holes we name stars,
sashaying from one lover to the next,
slip their clothing on and off
with grace captured only in sextets.

Poetry is music
half a spoon of sugar short

Music is the product
of estinto, yearning afterthought

*Hello world. Testing 1 2 3… *sneaks in quietly* Sorry I have been so inactive. I have very many excuses involving broken computers, work and heartache, but I’m too happy to be back to go into them right now. Yes, I tossed about rather a lot pf jargon up there, didn’t I? Well, I enjoyed writing it at least
Some definitions:
estinto – Italian music term that means ‘as softly as possible, extinguished, dying away’
paingevole – another Italian music term (Italian is just such a beautiful language) that means plaintively, softly, sadly
sextet – a group of six musicians
crescendoes – pretty little signs on sheet music that tell you to play louder
diminuendoes – the same as crescendoes except that they tell you to go softer
clef – a gorgeous, twirly little sign (also on sheet music) to tell you where on a piano to play (and usually with which hand)
cadence – a group of notes played together and grouped around a central note; like a chord (if that helps at all)

Hope you guys enjoyed (and understood, lol, I’ve been told that I’m terrible at explanations) Once again, my apologies for disappearing. Long story.*

~ by cravingoxygen on May 21, 2009.