Dubbing

And later on, returning home

after another of our walks,

re-defining myself

with a turn of a key -

someone who’s forever

framed in a doorway, forever

re-locating himself behind a door -

what if, removing the dog’s lead,

I hear someone playing a piano,

am I somewhere someone else,

patron or king in salon or court,

or just myself, slipping out of time?

I listen: the dead pianist, back turned,

is pouring out, drawing out,

the way they do in middle movements,

modulating so many forms of pain.

The andante ends with a click,

silent as a scythe.

I turn cassettes and continue copying,

tape A onto tape B, allegro ma non troppo.

I see one of me settling into a chair,

improvising, copy upon copy.

.

Reviews

[Eilis]

It usually takes me a few rounds with commenting on someone's poetry to get in a groove and find it easier to articulate my response. So, maybe this comment will be kind of generic, but I will return and continue reading your poems and hopefully be able to offer something more expansive.

I liked the mood of this. The way it begins at a point of almost (what feels like) crisis, but I don't think crisis is the right word. When I was a kid, I can remember having weird moments where I felt like I was dreaming when I was awake. And I had to question if what was happening was actually happening. Usually when I had recently awoken. As I get older and read more, it seems that the idea of reality is something very loose and it is likely our own need for stability that keeps us grounded in anything.

So, you begin at 'And later on' as though you have been speaking to someone all this time and want now to move on to the part where you (or the speaker) began to wonder. I love that about the poem. I mean, I love when poems start like that. And I really like the philosophical nature of this and the way its language never seeks to teach but rather seeks to show how an individual responded in a moment. The mixture of musical terminology and words that connect to time and emotion makes the poem feel rich in the realness of human existence.

There are some things I felt while reading that I find more difficult to define just now, but the poem is excellent. Clean, measured, obviously thoughtfully written. Something I would expect to read in a book or journal. I look forward to reading more of your work.

[Gerald Parker]

Thank you! I'm so pleased you came across this poem of mine. Seeing last night - UK time - that you had shelved it in your library led me to "Shard" and many other poems of yours, so much so that my brain was on fire and I couldn't sleep. I hope reading you and being regenerated by your facility with language will get me writing again. I haven't written anything for two and a half years. There is no consistency of style in my poems whereas yours are pure poetry. I will try to review some. Unfortunately I fear I cannot match the depth of insight and sweep of comment you have revealed in your review.

[Eilis]

That’s very kind, thank you. Please don’t feel any pressure to say anything expanse should you choose to comment. I happen to talk a lot when I’m commenting on poetry. Anything you have to say will be helpful, I’m sure.

All the best