The Sound of the Spheres

I had some fun with this one....

The Rastenberg Philharmonic had sat,

Were shuffling in their seats,

And tuning their various instruments

To play ‘The Survivor Suite’.

It had only been played just once before,

They knew they were taking a chance,

The conductor and several cellists had gone

Right after Svrili’s Dance!

 

One moment, the baton was waved in the air,

The next, the podium was clear,

A cellist had sawed at an awful E flat

Before he had disappeared;

Then holes had appeared in the group at the front

Where cellists and violins sat,

And all that was left of the treble bassoon

Was a sandwich, under his hat.

 

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been warned

For Borchnik appeared on the stage,

‘I scribbled this suite in a white hot heat

As I paced, in a boiling rage!

For those sitting close to the glockenspiel,

They really should cover their ears,

For once that crescendo of flute, lute and cello

Is heard - that’s the Sound of the Spheres!’

 

Karamov turned to the audience, bowed,

Then tapped with his baton, twice,

He wouldn’t be fazed to the end of his days

Though the Devil was tumbling the dice!

He looked at the fear-crazed Orchestra

Who’d heard about Borchnik’s curse,

Then launched them in to The Wages of Sin

As an introductory verse!

 

The music was nothing like you would expect,

It capered and trilled, and it soared,

It spoke of the aeons of military might,

Of the soldier that fell on his sword,

The audience sat with their open jaws

As it thrilled and it burst into flight,

And carried them out where the planets sang

In a paean to endless night!

 

The music it raged, and the music roared

And it came to Svrili’s Dance,

A blonde violinist took off for the door,

No way was she taking a chance!

A hole opened over a cellist’s head

And swallowed the glockenspiel,

While Karamov’s face went as white as the dead

When he found himself out in a field!

 

The Orchestra, crazed, seemed unable to stop,

The instruments sang in their hands,

The audience freaked as the piccolo peaked

And the harpsichord melted in strands,

They made for the exits in panic and fear

For the horror that waited outside,

A mammoth was leaning against the front door,

And a raptor was caught in mid-stride.

 

It took seven weeks for the madness to stop,

And Borchnik was run out of town,

While Karamov wanders where dinosaurs crop,

Conducting some thoughts of his own.

The Rastenberg Orchestra‘s now in recess,

Unlikely to play now for years,

The musicians agree that there isn’t a fee

That would bring back the Sound of the Spheres!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Walker Andreasen]

The audience sat with their open jaws
As it thrilled and it burst into flight,
And carried them out where the planets sang
In a paean to endless night!

This was my favorite part of the whole poem. Good sir, I loved it! You told a wonderful story, the entire time keeping flow and rhyme perfect which made it very easy and enjoyable throughout the read! I plan on reading more of your work. Thank you for your wonderful poetry!

[TL Boehm]

that's comical yet still technically brilliant. Not sure how you do it!

[BlackRose]

Great poem. It was fast paced but a bit smooth.

[cynthiabuhainbaello]

An engaging narrative as vibrant and fast-paced as the musical instruments that played in poetic harmony, to bring about this truly entertaining and perfectly composed poem.

[Lena M. P.]

You could say they went out on a bang...the big bang theory at that! Very entertaining.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

The sattirical and almost bohemian feel to the piece lends to the guiding hand within the text. Fear and laughter, a most slendid marriage.

[Helena]

(Rolling in the aisle with fits of laughter) Brilliant, just so full of lively and charming images! Yep, another for my library of favourites David! Oh, yes and the very best of top marks too!

[Brittany]

You are such a Master at rhyme and rhythm. How do you do it? Do you count the syllables? How do you make it flow like that? Anyway, well written as always and very, very, funny. Extremely witty. Perfect. Well done Maestro

[Marie]

Oh, but I would have loved to hear this anyway!

[Dean Kuch®]

Brilliantly witty and flawlessly rhythmic. Poor Borchnik, alas, a T-Rex's future lunch I suspect! I could not help but picture the classic Looney Tunes cartoon, with Bugs Bunny conducting the orchestra as I read this. So sorry, but it made me laugh all the more violently!
Wonderful as usual!