Continuum

 
I’ve just been listening to the endless rain
of notes that constitute Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier.
As it happens, it’s raining now, and all our trash
on the sidewalk is doubtless soaked. As I took out
the garbage bag, gnats rose from the coffee grounds
and other organic waste that made rich pickings
for their small appetites, and now they drift
across my field of vision, tiny particles
of consciousness that I will not snuff out.
 
It’s been a long day. Hay fever kept me up
much of the night, and then work brought its usual
demands on time and energy. One client asked
whether to sever all contact with her brother –
not a decision I feel inclined to make.
Meanwhile, Bach slowly reduced my mind to peace:
I was caught up in the beauty of his music,
which played as evening came on, and the sun slipped
toward the wet horizon, and daylight ebbed.

John Claiborne Isbell
 
To hear The Well-Tempered Clavier, click here.
 
If you have any thoughts about this poem, John Claiborne Isbell  would be pleased to hear them