trickling down
already feeding the side
of the mountain

starting to sing all those songs
you practiced in your head
when you were still a snow flake

blushing against the western rose sky
gazing up at the stars
like your own reflection

holding each others’ tiny hands
humming to the sacred silence
of the mountain top

            —-  shashi light

Thanks to:  http://pcwallart.com/mountain-stream-painting-wallpaper-2.html
for image

it raised a buzz in our small town
people whispered in the library
and out loud in the grocery

tickets were going fast
we counted down the months
then the days and finally the hours

till we stood in line
borrowing each others scarves
and mittens to keep warm

when the flood gates opened
there was a scrambling but mostly
respect for the older folks

a lady threw herself on 3 seats
like a hero when I yelled
“save those seats!”

we became instant friends
it just so happened those seats
held a pocket of clear vibrant sound

unaccustomed to visiting
the rest of the theatre
an accidental acoustic caveat

i was too excited to sit
so i weaved through ribbons of people
like a salmon jumping upstream

kids teens mothers grandfathers
moved in various curves
of undertow

i chatted with an usherette
and got the answer
to my burning question

the lights dimmed
i floated down to my seat
as the excitement of a thousand or so

percolated bubbled giggled
through an expectant hush
blanketing the residual chattering

an electrical silence
humming with unison breath
united our anticipation

then like a miracle
there he was
instrument in hand

stepping like an ordinary human
onto a stark stage
solely adorned by a grand piano

our ears leaned forward
our minds slowed
to capture every golden particle

sure to follow
brandished by the
uninhibited dance of his magic wand

our hearts felt safe
to open to his glittering notes
that took a thousand years to make

we feasted on that sweet decadence
note after note
phrase after glistening phrase

there were moments of
frolicking soaring lilting chasing
diving thundering experimenting

delicately commanding our lives
enrapturing our senses
expanding our possibilities

we were happy captives
our cells always thirsty for beauty
soaked in every morsel

our minds forgot
we were sitting in an auditorium
did we even breathe for those 2 magical hours

afterward he came out to sign cds
so we could hold his name in our hands
as living proof of his ethereal presence

he smiled at a child
when her mother mentioned
her daughter played the violin

“may I shake your hand?”
he asked
in complete humility

only a child could
respond to that
without turning into jelly

for days we talked about his hair his clothes
his burgundy cumber-band
his pauses and crescendoes

how much is his violin worth?
did you notice how he held his bow?
why did he come here?

that was what everyone wanted to know
what on earth brought him to our
speck on the map

i smiled and recalled the remarkable story
the usherette shared with me
of Joshua Bell honoring a humble request

of a gentleman who turned
his loss
into our beholden gain

—- shashi light

Thanks to: http://info.music.indiana.edu/faculty/current/bell-joshua.shtml
for image