Bamboo Flute
I am studying simplicity
in the way a rattlesnake
watches a field mouse,
which means of course
that I am doing it all wrong
and making this much more
difficult. Today’s lesson
is humility: I achieve no
tone from this damn bamboo
flute, no matter how I adjust
my mouth and wind. Go
watch football, the voices
say. Instead I go to the grocery,
buy my wife’s favorite
wine, and later pour her
a glass and offer Irish cheddar
with rice crackers and a few
grapes. I sip beer, pick up
the flute, and sound a
wavering D followed by a goose
fart and spitting hamsters.
Progress, at last! Now
back to the lesson. Relax.
I’m nailing this simplicity thing.
* * *
“Bamboo Flute” first appeared in The Larger Geometry: poems for peace, available at Amazon. This anthology of poems that “uplift, encourage and inspire,” features poets from five countries and three continents. Published by the interfaith peaceCENTER of San Antonio, Texas, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All proceeds from the sale of this anthology go to benefit the peaceCENTER.
I’m pleased to have had a small role in selecting the poems.
Contributing poets include Lynne Burnett, Charlotte Hamrick, Daryl Muranaka, Stephanie L. Harper, Sudhanshu Chopra, Texas Poet Laureate Carol Coffee Reposa, Michael Vecchio, Rebecca Raphael and others.
I love this life lesson
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Thank you, Beth! It’s an ongoing dilemma. 🙂
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Quirky humor blended with insight. Loved it.
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Thanks, Mike,
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Haha! Excellent! You nailed it! One of the most difficult woodwinds, I think.
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Thanks, Pablo. So simple, so difficult…
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this is great!
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Thank you, Nancie,
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you bet!
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Love this piece!
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Thanks, V.J. It was fun to write,
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You totally are! haha
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Nothing is as simple as we’d like…
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No. Not at all. That darn Murphy so often shows up as well…
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Always!
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It was the crackers, tempered by the grapes, that gave voice to your flute. Air, dry but not so dry, seeking to celebrate that communion.
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The proper air is so difficult to find! As are the words…
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