April 19: "Yamaha," Music Nights, "Church Music"

Billy Collins plays some music  . . 

Yamaha

by:  Billy Collins

I gun my baby grand

along blacktop roads,

and I play Claire de Lune

in my helmet and boots.

Friday nights are music nights for me.

I play at two and three different churches every weekend, so, after dinner on Fridays, I grab my bag of music and head out the door.  Two or three hours later, I'm back home after practicing the hymns and preludes and postludes.

When I was taking piano lessons as a kid, I never thought I'd actually make any money playing the keyboard.  Now, I'm a fulltime accompanist at one Lutheran church, part-time accompanist at another Lutheran church, and the fulltime Saturday evening accompanist at a Catholic church.  Plus, a lot of other churches of various denominations have my name on their lists of in-case-of-musical-emergency-break-glass organists.

Saint Marty's piano lessons have paid off.

Church Music

by:  Martin Achatz

I once played

"Amazing Grace"

with a boogie

bassline 

during communion,

God buying 

a round of drinks

for everyone

in the joint.

April 18: "Three for a Quarter," Johnny Cash, "Old Country Music"

Billy Collins shows his age . . . 

Three for a Quarter

by:  Billy Collins

I was forced to listen to a lot of country music when I was a kid.  Every morning, while I ate breakfast, I had to endure the local country station on the radio.  It was the only thing my dad listened to.

So, I got very familiar with all the old country tunes that only cost a nickel to play on a jukebox.  Hank Williams.  Willie Nelson.  Johnny Cash.  Loretta Lynn.

Perhaps that ages me, too, just like Collins.  All the 1980s songs that define my high school days are now considered vintage or golden oldies.

Does that make Saint Marty a classic?

Old Country Music

by:  Martin Achatz

Every morning,

WJPD on the radio

with my Lucky Charms.

Then I hopped a train

to school, hunted down

the dirty, mangy dog

who failed me in Trig,

and shot his dog.

April 17: "Olden Plea," Bad Attitudes, "Emotional Eating"

Billy Collins makes a request . . . 

Olden Plea

by:  Billy Collins

Could we skip the hanging

and the quartering

and just do some drawings--

maybe of a pillory, an urchin, or a herring?

Gonna be a short one tonight, disciples.  It's been a long day dealing with lots of bad attitudes (including my own).  I'm ready for bed.

This whole week has been an exercise in simply treading water, and today was no different.  I made it to bedtime without hanging or quartering anybody.

Saint Marty counts that as a victory.

Emotional Eating

by:  Martin Achatz

I ate a handful

of anger and grief

this afternoon.

It tasted a lot

like Cheetos and M&Ms.

April 16: "4'33" by John Cage," Silence, "Pin Drop"

Billy Collins indulges in some quiet jazz . . .

4'33" by John Cage

by:  Billy Collins

As I listened,

the scales

fell from my eyes.

If you're not familiar with 4'33" by John Cage, this poem simply won't work for you.  Watch a video, and you will see someone sitting at a piano for four minutes and thirty-three seconds playing . . . absolutely nothing.  There's music sitting in front of the performer, and, every once in a while, the pianist may turn the page or lift a hand to the keyboard, but no sound is made.  Not a note.

If you've ever sat in forced silence, you know it isn't easy.  There's a human impulse to fill moments of prolonged nothing.  Almost five minutes of noiselessness is tantamount to waterboarding for some individuals.

Quiet doesn't bother me, but I'm a poet.  I need absence (of sound and people and distraction) to get words down on paper.

So, John Cage is right up Saint Marty's alley.

Pin Drop

by:  Martin Achatz

If you can

hear a pin drop,

pick up the bastard

before I step on it.