Embedded Files
First published in Mosaic #28, 1988, page 82 (University of California, Riverside). This was my first published longer poem in any journal other than school-related publications. Later published in Sand Hill Review #4, Spring 2003, page 33. Also shown in the “Ars Poetica” exhibit (where artists interpret poems) at the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with an opening reception held on 5 April 2024. My poem was interpreted by glass artist Sandy Schlyer. See also “Your Second Heart” and “How to Respond to a Haiku,” poems featured in other “Ars Poetica” exhibits. +
A Londoner with
hatovercoatclarinet
plays amiable
songstunesmelodies
outside
the Royal Festival,
command performance
inside.
His hatovercoatclarinet
case
are worn,
and the tired case lies
open
where naked
reedspenniespounds
rest.
The music
floats
sweetly
across the Thames
played
through thin
woolgloveswithoutfingers
and when the concert
ends
bowlersgownsducktails
waltz like the river by
to the sound
of a dreamy
clarinet.
Photos from the 5 April 2024 opening exhibit at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Glass artwork by Sandy Schlyer inspired by my poem “The Clarinet.”
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