Music

Follow the runs...up they soar...down they fall...note after note...in rapid succession...chasing each other along the staff...the mind can watch them...sometimes vivace...sometimes andante...regardless of key...they flow...staccato...legato...seconds...thirds...half steps...accidentals...naturals...sharps...flats...all gather...weaving the fabric...strings...winds...pick out the flute...sometimes attached to the oboe or the clarinet...timbre changing with each pairing...always listening for that deep shimmering richness...measuring it against the best...that abundance of sound that comes from the openness of the body...of air directed over silver...of vast breaths...of whole notes and half notes dangling...landing pads only to be off again running...but what of silence...quiet white space...rests...respite...of listening to nothingness...to the noises of being...of blood coursing...of fingers clasping thumbs...a last vestige of infanthood...of tongue in repose pressed against teeth...waiting to lend itself in service to speech and feeding...cessation...now a tableau of solitude...of release...a welcome lull