When the Symphony Played, originally written December 21, 2007; revised October 9, 2013

When the Symphony Played             December 21, 2007 (Revised October 9, 2013)

When The Ship set sail for the Seven Seas,
Did you descend into Bermuda's depths rather than the Keys?

And when the infinite waters had flown into the horizon, ended

 And with the Night Sky, as if two lovers in heart, blended,

Did you cry, my child? O' Lord! Did you cry, my child?

Did your eyes have foresight enough to say?
Were your ears able to listen to the musicians play

With the violence of the raucous stomping feet

On the turf so blue, along the bleak concrete?

Have you yet been immersed in glorious rapture
Or were you, instead, in a state of capture?
Did Life ever flourish whilst the symphony played,
Or was it totally bland and completely staid?

O'! Did you know life is never there t'all,
'Tis a streak of lightning, then descends into freefall?
O'! Did you learn the story of the birds and bees
And the butterflies that swoon 'cross the seas?

And did you read what The New Yorker said
That Culture was here, but what was once is now dead?
Did you hear that the President is just a talking head?

If indeed you have, and I hope you do,
Then this I shall feel so sorry for you,

For you, my child, live so naively and true

With your residing amid the rabid, evil devils
Whilst your brethren reach for the sky's levels

Never happy, never content, never expressing your revels:
They shall inherit the world one day,

For you, so feeble, are too cowardly to say,
"Once upon a time, I was in the orchestra to play."