symphony orchestra
memories accrued
like manure piled
 |
| POTENTIAL PILE OF MANURE |
during winter's hibernate
I--remembering
times of both
scenarios:
Six weeks
annual touring
concerts every night
another village
tomorrow
Six months
cows in barn
annual curing
age-old loop.
poop...eat...poop
shovel it, throw it
flowers grow in it
Bringing our art
to Peeps starved.
Living on rails,
train was home
ever we (um!)
roamed...
Meanwhile, back at ranch
cow dung begun it's stench
“Who's a'load the spreader?”
“Not none o' us”, said
hireds sitting on bench.
“Get that guy with his fiddle.
'Bout time he learned to work.”
(they thought I had run away--
not to play, but to shirk,)
So farm waited, shovels
begged be used--
while huddled on train
in cold top-bunk hovel,
this violin player
followed his Muse
--Steve E
Love it! One of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you followed your muse.
ReplyDeletebetter to follow your muse than let it die as you serve anothers muse...there is some nice depth in your steve...toomany fail to follow their muse...
ReplyDeleteLoops & spirals,talents- muse-
ReplyDelete( I wish I had a manure spreader)
I'll take a train ride any day !
yup play hookie with my muse! thanks.
so glad you followed your muse steve..would love to hear you play some day...by the way..did you hear me sing "city of new orleans" over at dVerse last saturday..? instead of doing my household, i was following my muse, played the guitar and sang...and recorded it for the poetics prompt...smiles
ReplyDeleteClaudia:
ReplyDeleteDid NOT...I will go there, gonna lie down now. Woke up with full-blown head cold..Not good for old man. I will listen later--for SURE!
That muse you followed in the end- Glad you did, all the way to the one you are today... but-a bit of farm work also heals the soul...or does it not?
ReplyDeletePeace ma peep
:-)
great to see you at OLN again friend...
ReplyDeleteyour posts are always interesting to read hehe
ReplyDeleteIt's not always easy to do the unexpected. I hope I can keep at it, and not fall back to expectations. Thanks for inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteKRISTIN:
ReplyDeleteThank you, girl! That farm was outside of Cincinnati.
Living on a train was F U N !!!
TESS:
Yup! It has always been to me amusing!
BRIAN: You don't even keep your Muse in a case. But maybe you DO find it necessary to tune up once a year? Or..more often?
IZZY:
Yep, trains are fun...I like! And even manure spreaders have their charm! Sometimes it's still warm!
DULCE:
ReplyDeleteYa can take the boy out from the farm. But ya cannot take the 'farm' out of the boy...or so 'they' say!
Yep. PEACE!
Chick Flick:
What do you mean "hehe"???--grin! My posts are generally based on real events in my life. As if you didn't guess that!
BRIAN:
Seems like--up til now--OLN is the only one I can get my brain around. Sr Rose Gertrude (1st Grade) had us all recite in a singing voice, "Try, Try, Try again..."
LORI:
Expectations DO have tendency to hold me back--or put me down! Nice to see you here. Thanks!
Always better to follow one's muse and you can't lose. Even if one does they tried and know. Least that is something. Great piece.
ReplyDeleteI will follow your verse...give in to my muse, even though its hot to the bite.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful message ~
Hope all is well ~
And, Steve, the music still plays through your stories and your words and I hear the masters resonate from your bow and strings..through mountain laurel, deep plowed fields, waves of grain superimposing on the waters that lap your Florida shores.
ReplyDeleteG.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteThis wonderful memory/poem brought back memories, where I had to shovel manure out from a stall, and then climb up a ladder (after I threw my violin case up in the hay loft, and sit there for practicing scales. LOL!
Times never change....music was shoved into the small spaces between chores...inside and out.
I love your form, Steve...how your poetry is presented...very natural, very intriguing...the words follow a good rhythm, or the rhythm follows the words, I don't know, but there is something very UNIQUE in your poetry...especially lately.
Love it.
Lady Nyo
V-nice write steve - where would we be without that muse - probably dead - great rythmn and feel - love the style and dialogue - entertaining and cool - excellent
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, I'm glad to meet you... And I'd like to know, did you work on a farm before heading out on the road as a musician? Or is this the poet following his muse as well? Hope you'll let me know... The fork in this poem went well for me, the whole double memory thing, I really enjoyed it... the age-old loop woke me up for sure! Like the pic of potential manure!!! :)
ReplyDeletePAT HATT:
ReplyDeleteYesss, Pat. At least one knows--pretty soon, on a violin, if it's gonna "take".
LADY NYO:
You TOO? Practiced violin in the barn? After cleaning the stall? Cripes, I *knew* we had something in common--grin! You are very sweet in your comments. Thank you.
HEAVEN:
If that's your real name...well, it FITS! All is well, except for a head cold with all the accoutrements. I'm not used to being sick. At least, at my age, I don't have that tough decision to call into work--or not!
BEACHANNY:
What a comment. I could blog that as a post--so poetic! I Love it!!!
ARRON SHILLING:
When something I write is called "cool" by a Peep like you, my head gets instantly double-sized! THANKS!
JOHNALLENRICHTER:
ReplyDeleteAfter your comment, I MUST look you up. Born on farm, started violin at age 6. (Had to keep working on farm, though. Left home at age 17-18. Got sober age 40, still attend at least ONE AA meeting a day. Now at age 78, I am enjoying violin playing, blogging, living, loving, riding my 650cc Suzuki Bergman EVERYWHERE! That's my bio! I had no idea it would be that brief--grin!
Thank you for stopping here!
Glad you followed your muse...and your heart :)
ReplyDeleteShoveling manure is good for the soul sometimes--but only in moderation, and only if you still got to play your fiddle. Always a pleasure to see where your free spirit roams, Steve, even through the cow pies.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this piece. It offers nice transitioning and absolutely love the tone and diction throughout. Thanks for the read, Happy Open Link Night
ReplyDeleteSteve this is wonderful and so glad that you followed your muse. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeletehttp://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/20/the-fait-of-our-lands/
Not so sure about cow manure, but horse manure isn't bad - I kind of enjoy it NOW.
ReplyDeleteBut when I was a kid, even piano lessons were preferred! :)
glad you followed where the muse led - very glad
ReplyDeleteA great tale well told!
ReplyDeletePeeps, I will respond to the beautiful, encouraging comments later...I have had a fever for three days now, and a bad head cold to boot. Going back to the warm bed now. I love you all, believe that!
ReplyDeletePEACE!
I have no doubt there's as much honor in farm work as in art work, but I have to admit, given a choice, I'd go for touring with the symphony.
ReplyDeleteMARK KERSTETTER:
ReplyDeleteYes...some of those days were fun...FUN!
JO BRYANT:
Hello Jo! I'm meeting so meny new peeps through comments these days! Thanks for being here.
MARGARET:
Well, I liked the manure work, because I was usually alone then, with my favorite Peep and worst enemy—ME! Gosh, that almost sounds philosophical. Woe is me! Glad you came by.
ANN LEFLORE:
I'm on the way to visit...you!
FRED:
Ya know Fred, I kinda enjoy these OLNs...meet new Peeps every time. All nice folks here, supportive with their comments.
HEDGEWITCH:
You say the nicest things! Really. And I consider you one of those top ten in this dvers-ified poetry world.
AYALA:
I see you everywhere, girl, and now here. Thank you.
MAMA ZEN:
Thank you. I respect your words, always encouraging!
never really minded cow poop. Chicken and pig -- not so much!
ReplyDeleteFertilizer baby, fertilizer!! :)
I have a violin reference in my poem, Violin Man...
ox
There are just some things more important than shoveling sh...
ReplyDeleteGlad you thought so and followed your muse.
JANNIE FUNSTER:
ReplyDeleteSaw your 'violin' reference. But I thought in heaven Peeps played harps.
Glad you are here tonight.
JOANNE ELLIOTT:
About that shoveling, well, SOMEBODY had to do it! With 'Muse-ing', it is for everyone, either in the doing or the appreciating, enjoying!
Some do neither. Some just shovel the stuff!
PEACE!!!
Get Ye to bed, Ol' Peep! Vicks and warm socks both on your feet to break your fever. Rest, we'll be here waiting with bated breath to hear more about how you dodged shoveling the sh....stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteawesome poem, and keep following it
ReplyDeleteI love farms. Grown up in city but considers farms are more beautiful.From your poem I can go into the farm where everything is creeps and fresh .Thanks a billion for taking me to farm.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I say about your poems. AMAZING.
IZDIHER:
ReplyDeleteYup. In U.S. we call farms Amber Waves of Grain in a song called "America". I never regretted being raised on a farm. Thank you for more than kind words! PEACE!
ELLIOTT MacLeod-Michael
Thanks for visiting. I did drop in at your place, and you are a writer!
MAGPIE:
Does Vicks, warm socks, and going to bed really work? I did. It DID!
How did you know violin practice was a work-dodge? --grin!
Thanks for your comment a couple days ago. I hadn't realized that I was comparing my disease with others instead of focusing on identification. I think that is what you were telling me. I thought that I've been trying to make my scratched knee as important as your broken leg. I felt like I didn't deserve to call myself an alcoholic, as if I was calling my cold a case of pneumonia.
ReplyDeleteCATFISH TALES:
ReplyDeleteShers, I really enjoyed my first 'trip' to Ireland on your blog. Thanks for coming here to say "Hi"...
CAROL:
I hate myself when unable to resist the urge to "share" like that. But your response here validates that it is not always wrong to do so. Thank you, friend-and-fellow-trudging Peep!
what divine sentiments.
ReplyDeletegrins, love the refreshing talent you illustrated here.
this is incredible.
ReplyDeleteglad to read you and love your blog.
welcome sharing your poetry with us today,
first time participants can do free linking up to 3 poems, you can write for our challenge if you want to, no obligations, we are open until Thursday night, 8pm…
hope to see you in.
keep up the excellence.