Contrapuntal Occurrence: October
Lbelans 2018
Fugue
An old man throws down on a city trashcan.
He might be playing Monk. In the rearview mirror maybe
Wagner.
Orange candy corn pylons line the street near Costco. On the car radio
Blanchard’s Choices; Cornell West riffs on the short time
we’re here, how we prepare for death, and
Beethoven.
In an autumnal week, three friends died. They were younger than I am. All of them
Incandescent all
their walking days.
Carl Sagan said We ourselves are built of star stuff.
Exposition
Emerald green balloons tumble down Broad Street. They seem to be
in a hurry. In hindsight maybe
lost.
The mother of my elementary school crush was gunned down
at the Tree of Life synagogue whlle
praying.
A constellation glints off the window sill prism; a gift
from a quicksilver husband now
cosmic dust.
Episode
Stars scatter across the ceiling, spilling
down the wall, dissolving in a
downbeat.
Gustav Mahler said - The symphony should be like the world; it must
embrace everything.