Creature of boundless metamorphoses.
The slinky, jaunty cat in Peter and the Wolf;
the haunting melody “E lucevan le stelle”
in Tosca, the clarinet sobbing
along with the tenor’s anguish;
the soaring glissando in Rhapsody in Blue,
an orgasm in the crown of my head.
Listen to them, to all of them.
Then listen again:
When I listen, the timbre echoes
in my head and throat, as if I
were playing. As I once did.
I recall a oneness with the instrument,
a hybrid: half human, half spirit.
My breath made heavenly.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 25, Issue 5.
Alan Swope’s poetry has been published in Evening Street Review, Fort Da, Front Range Review, Medicine & Meaning, Mixed Mag, Perceptions Magazine, Poetic Sun, and Roanoke Rambler. He is a practicing psychotherapist and an emeritus professor with the California School of Professional Psychology. Alan enjoys singing, acting, travel, cinema, and gardening.
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