Contributor Series 10: Silken Rags
The Violence of the Violins
By Paul Hostovsky
It was in them, they would say.
It was what they were, what they
did. It was part of them, carved
into them like an F hole, like
a clef tattooed onto a biceps.
And there was nothing you
could say or do to change that.
It was their way. It was the way
of the world, and also of the sun
exploding a million miles away,
warming your soft cheek. Face
the music, they would say. Stop
listening with your eyes closed.
See the string tightened almost
to breaking, the bow torturing it
into song. Feel the skin stretched
over the drum so tightly it makes
your heart pound. And where
did you think it all came from,
the easy melody, the high tinkling
finery? We are hurt into beauty.
And you, up in the balcony, rising
to your feet, applauding fiercely, look
down at what your own hands are doing.
Paul Hostovsky’s most recent poem to appear here was Feeding Nancy, published in July 2011 as part of Contributor Series 9: If Men Had Ears.
very nice, I love it.
Shivery nice.
Vivid and arresting.