Optimistic Hopper
Darling, if you’re going to wear that blood-red satin dress,
with its bow blossoming out of your shoulder,
you should really play the piano with more than just one finger.
To make me look up from my evening paper,
you should play Bach, a Fugue, or better still, the Goldberg
Variations
with all the repeats, make the trills really crackle!
And you should twist your calves and feet around the stool,
Angela Hewitt does that to anchor herself
in a ten-foot swell of notes. Darling, passion dictates
you turn yourself away from me and face
the instrument full on, it’s raven black and upright, but after all,
a Bechstein is made for performance.
Don’t worry if I mutter darkly about the stock-market.
Don’t take any notice of me. This is just a table
between us, not a wall. You know how I love to hear you play.
Page(s) 6
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