Last Recapitulation

Blame the bread riots,
Mozart said from his straw cot,
for why Symphony No. 3
never sold.

But I’ll never confess
to theft—Clementi’s
just sorry he lost the duel
(technically it was a tie)
and what’s a theme anyways
until you take the time
to do something with it?

His fever was high, his words
delusion to the point of truth.
All the operas and invented
genres in the entirety of Vienna
aren’t going to save me,
he lamented, a contractor
peddling an unnecessary service
in times of great desperation.

Maybe I shouldn’t have
broken with the aristocracy.
Perhaps there is some
artistic legacy to trade
for a decent mattress
at the end of my days.

 

KG Newman is a sports writer for The Denver Post. His first two poetry collections, While Dreaming of Diamonds in Wintertime and Selfish Never Get Their Own, are available on Amazon. He is on Twitter @KyleNewmanDP.

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist and photographer from the Boston area. He also owns and operates an elevator company that supplies custom-built elevators for clients from New England to Hollywood. Author of two poetry and photograph collections (Under the Weight of Whispers and Into the Thorns and Honey) on Big Table Publishing, he donates all profits from his books to various charities for the homeless and local animal shelters. Glenn is also the official photographer for the Newton Writing and Publishing Center.