Words for a Story from the Story of a Word
The latest poetry assignment was to find the etymological roots of one word that interests us or has a connection with personal memories, experiences or ideas. Using those roots, write a 20-line poem.
My word was music.
A Kind of Music
I once took a date to an out-of-the-way
jazz club where I was told the trumpet player
could really blow your socks off. The whole night
he shrieked his madness and bellowed his memories,
line after line of furious love he raced
ahead and called out to the crowd, “Fill
this in as you see fit.” He was his own
ardent admirer lost in his mind but found
in the spotlight. There. In that high-pitched,
piercing wail he just said, “This is how much
I love you.” Ah, feel that? In that slow, low moan
he just whispered, “This is how much I miss you.”
As the night came to a close, the audience
cried through the smoky, spirited air, “Tell us
how it ends. Is it a hymn? Was it a prayer?
You are the sensible prophet, what is your advice,
your warning, your divination?” But he merely
played on, amused. After the band had packed up,
I turned to my date and asked what she thought
of the show. She said, “It’s not really my kind of music.”
My word was music.
A Kind of Music
I once took a date to an out-of-the-way
jazz club where I was told the trumpet player
could really blow your socks off. The whole night
he shrieked his madness and bellowed his memories,
line after line of furious love he raced
ahead and called out to the crowd, “Fill
this in as you see fit.” He was his own
ardent admirer lost in his mind but found
in the spotlight. There. In that high-pitched,
piercing wail he just said, “This is how much
I love you.” Ah, feel that? In that slow, low moan
he just whispered, “This is how much I miss you.”
As the night came to a close, the audience
cried through the smoky, spirited air, “Tell us
how it ends. Is it a hymn? Was it a prayer?
You are the sensible prophet, what is your advice,
your warning, your divination?” But he merely
played on, amused. After the band had packed up,
I turned to my date and asked what she thought
of the show. She said, “It’s not really my kind of music.”