Thursday, December 8, 2016

The City Stirs


image from fineartsamerica.com


The City Stirs

“Nature is a petrified magic city.”--Novalis

Sirens awaken me alltissmo & blaring;
perhaps     a meat wagon,   the police,
              or a firetruck--          charging
toward some calamity, deliberate and
              bellicoso.

A canto of pigeons coo on the edge of
the roof, all dolce & delicato--quite the
contrast to my Mickey Mouse alarm
clock blasting its brassy bell aria. I silence
it with a swift colpugno.

              Foghorns in the harbor
              bleat abafando in the
              distance. My tongue tastes metallic as
                             I burp pepperoni pizza, greasy
                             and abbandono.
               Some truck with twin
               stacks bellows & spews
               as it labors through its
                              crunching chorus of gears, before
                              fading con calando.

As I brew coffee,
     needing to consume
         caffeine devoto, I tap
            my fingers to the onerous
                  barbaro beat of a twin jackhammer
                       duet, busily reducing concrete to a
                          acciaccato dust pudding.

Mere blocks from the office, I move adante through
the´cacophony of the crowds crescendo, untouched,
nearly invisible, finding their frowns & epithets capricco,
the white noise within me fully abandono, but only in
the security of the elevator does my heartbeat return
to abattuta.
                          The city awakens
                           con allegrezza, as I

                           grasp joy in fermata.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub MTB

14 comments:

Victoria said...

Dang, this is fun, but I'm going to need to come back to research some of your music vocab, Glenn. You really created a lot of atmosphere here. So glad I'm mostly rural! You just gave me an idea for one I've yet to write!

tonispencer said...

Fun poem Glenn. Now I know why I ran screaming from the city!

Kim M. Russell said...

Oh I love the way you've woven the music terms into your poem and created a soundscape of the city, Glenn! I particularly love: 'A canto of pigeons coo on the edge of /the roof, all dolce & delicato...'.
and
'Foghorns in the harbor
bleat abafando in the
distance. My tongue tastes metallic as
I burp pepperoni pizza, greasy
and abbandono'
and
'Mere blocks from the office, I move adante through
the´cacophony of the crowds crescendo...'

Eric said...

This is delightful. The fire engine charges... Red like the bull fighters cloak
Lovely imagery

Waltermarks said...

I like the way the musicality of your day builds from adante to crescendo. "Mere blocks from the office, I move adante through
the´cacophony of the crowds crescendo, untouched,"

De Jackson said...

"grasp joy in fermata" - oh, perfect.
Gorgeous sprinkling of terms throughout, Glenn.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

My goodness this is good!❤️ I can actually feel the city vibrating upon the beat of your verse. Excellent write!!

Truedessa said...

Wonderfully done Glenn, why am I not surprised at your use of musical language. Brilliant!

brudberg said...

What a wonderful fun response... This got me thinking of Rhapsody in Blue, and the version don for Fantasia... yes the city has it's own music... maybe more Rock'n Roll than anything a symphony.

Misky said...

This is just stunning work, Glenn. Totally amazing.

lynn__ said...

What a wonderful cacophony! Glenn, I definitely think city music is your forte! LOVE it. BTW, I think it's "andante", not adante.

Paul John Dear said...

The musicality of the city brought to life. Wonderfully expressive and informative piece.

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful, Glenn...quite a romp through the musical terms...and I fell off my chair with what you did to your alarm clock. LOL! Brilliant, all of it.'

A great joy to read. Very descriptive.

Jane

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

I am very late to comment -- having spent the weekend at my daughter's and seeing my two young grandchildren in Phillips Academy's production of the Nutcracker!
So -- late -- but oh so impressed! This is masterful and is truly a symphony of the city. Love the fermata at the very last....and have always loved the musical term bellicose....
Really really enjoyed this. Read it a second time aloud -- and really heard the music! :)