Untitled, acrylic on canvas board © Digby Beaumont
The Piano Student’s Awakening
Calliope this, calliope that—
but then one day it came,
a gorgeous melody from a foreign land,
to hear it was so plain.
The piglets slowed and the buffalos
raised their heads from grazing,
the elephants trumpeted, then the animals fell silent
since the new sound was so amazing!
The bejeweled horses shook their manes,
those treasures so purebred,
the circle slowed, the dim lights glowed,
and the ticket master turned his head.
A slender waif and classy lass
so full of aspirations,
had finally heard her teacher’s word
and their advice shared without reservation.
Better said, he played for her,
and she heard what she couldn’t imagine
or find from others less inspired
who played without understanding.
This time she listened and she heard
the song beneath the notes,
then set on fire, her heart jumped higher
to hear what Beach really wrote!
So sat she down at Euterpe’s piano
and magic dripped from her fingers,
the waltz arose in glorious chorus
as if from angelic singers!
Inspired on the day I first learned to express phrasing
in Waltz Op. 36 No. 33 from The Children’s Album
by Amy Beach.
Ann Grogan is a new poet, pianophile, retired attorney, and octogenarian residing in San Francisco, California. She promotes the unequivocal permission to pursue one’s passions at any age. With humor and thoughtfulness she reflects on struggles to relearn to play the piano, and expresses abiding respect for a thoughtful, humanist life.
Digby Beaumont is a self-taught artist. His artwork has been widely published in collaboration with writers of fiction, poetry and music. His subjects include portraits, figures, urban scenes and still lifes. His main interest is to convey something of the subject’s emotional world. His pictures sometimes suggest elements of a story. He uses techniques of acrylic painting, pen and ink drawing, screen printing and mixed media. Digby is also a widely-published writer. His stories and poetry have appeared in more than 100 magazines and anthologies, including The Best Small Fictions. Previously, as a textbook author, he had numerous publications, including international best sellers.
Wonderful poem the “Piano Student’s Awakening”. While the meter might be a bit off here & there, the story line is exquisite and the poem lands beautifully:
So sat she down at Euterpe’s piano
and magic dripped from her fingers,
the waltz arose in glorious chorus
as if from angelic singers!
I loved positioning this piece in context with the poet’s bio featured here. Ann Grogan is some kinda’ wonder woman, and thank you for this!