Sunday 3 April 2011

The Sunday Post

Spring Flowers In The Garden {2010}

Hullo ma wee blog,

This weeks Sunday poem.

The Concerto.

Miss pianist bows her lovely back
under a hail of notes
that she's returning, slightly damaged to Beethoven.

The audience puts on looks
of exquisite thoughtfulness. How lucky
to have horn-rimmed glasses
at the middle of your skull.

On the podium, the conductor
is a cobra, half reared
from a basket. How stupid
not to know who's the charmer.

Beethoven knows nothing of such things ever since he became
deafer
than deafness.

Norman MacCaig. 1968

5 comments:

DB Stewart said...

This makes me want to know "the charmer."

Nicky said...

I want to know the charmer too! Another great one!

Alistair said...

To me ' the charmer' would be Beethoven himself because it's the snake charmer who makes the music to raise the python and in this case the pianist isn't doing so well and the conductor seems to think that he is the star of the show.

Any thoughts?

Sandy's witterings said...

What an fine time to post this piece. I was wanting to send it to a friend and discovered it here only a week or so old - cutting and pasting is so much easier than copying from the book. So I thank you for doing some of my typing for me.
Oor Norman writes some fine lines and has definately been the poetical flavour of the last couple of months for me.

Alistair said...

Glad you enjoyed it gents.

Sandy - always happy to help. You're right,
MacCaig is a class act and I'm finding it hard to post other poets - not that I'm all that much of an expert - than Norman.

Thanks for the comment and for signing up. there's plenty more from him in the pipeline on my 'Sunday Post'

The Sunday Posts 2017/Mince and Tatties.

Mince and Tatties I dinna like hail tatties Pit on my plate o mince For when I tak my denner I eat them baith at yince. Sae mash ...