Revision

A Poem by Dean

(The assignment, on another site, was to write a poem
using at least two words from those suggested. I first
used six out of their list. Now, here is my revision,
using all seven:

* Alabaster
* Veil
* Tower
* Bells ringing
* Silent like snow
* Precise
* Depth)

Cold Keys, Warm Art

Speak not of frozen alabaster
from the halls of statuary,
rather of melodious sounds
imparted now by living bells
ringing out their glory from the tower,
and of the man who shares the power
of feet and fists upon
the pedals and the levers
at the top of the winding stair.

Speak of him, the lonely creator up there,
the carilloneur, for without him
few know that the bells would be silent,
like snow seeking only the depth
of precise calculation, undreaming of scale
measured only by music, by mind flight,
until he lifts the intangible veil,
releasing the art and the joy that they tell.
~

I had the privilege once to mount those stairs
with a carilloneur, and watch her perform from
a very challenging and complex score on this
fascinating array of levers and handles up there,
as the huge swinging bells rang above and around
us. Never to be forgotten!