Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SYMPHONY, by LOUIS J. SANKER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SYMPHONY, by                    
First Line: Treble and bass, treble and bass
Last Line: The lees of the bass.


Treble and bass, treble and bass,
A flurry of notes in a hurry for place.
The smile of the skies with their pure bluey wonder,
The galloping hordes of the ominous thunder;
Drear woods with the rain-splattered dress of a slattern,
A garment of flowers in exquisite pattern;
Roses and thorn;
Twilight and morn;
The faltering aged and babies new-born;
The rags of the peasant, aristocrat lace:
All in pursuit of a permanent place
In the exquisite treble,
The ominous bass;
In the chime of the treble,
The boom of the bass.

Treble and bass, treble and bass,
Cyclonic the urging and surging for place,
The delicate sketching of frost on the glasses,
The desolate waste in his wake as he passes;
The quiet of hills through long ages unchanging,
The revolt of Vesuvius lava lanes ranging;
Pleasure and pain;
Innocence, stain;
The fields left unfurrowed, then golden with grain;
The laurel-crowned leader, the last in the race:
All in a constant commotion for place
In the trill of the treble,
The roll of the bass;
In the swing of the treble,
The beat of the bass.

Treble and bass, treble and bass,
Headlong the lunging and plunging for place.
The warmth of the fireside with friends mellow aging,
The smoke and the fume of the forest fire raging;
The murmuring seas wrapped in languorous glamor,
Wild tumult of waters in deafening clamor;
Darkness and stars;
Comeliness, scars;
The blessings of peace, the scourging of wars;
The shock of temptation, the rally of grace:
All in unending endeavor for place
In the song of the treble,
The moan of the bass;
In the wine of the treble,
The lees of the bass.





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