THE SINGING HARP

THE SINGING HARP, by Colleen Anderson, with audio by the author.

Once the greatest musical implement

passed from gods to Taliesen

strings each representing the harmony

of the spheres singing a melody

that drew angels near

 

Taliesen passed on to Avalon

as mystical bards ever do

the harp fell into the hands of giants

of old firbolgs hidden in lofty realms

until a jackanapes climbed the stalk

of a humble bean, bent on adventure

and stole what rightfully was never his

 

The harp again tumbled

its exalted position, ethereal glow tarnished

on touching earth in mud and silt

then a vibration likened to the tremor

before the world began traversed the space

of air housed within each man and woman

 

Rage quivered its taut strings

enticing people to hear its tale

the maltreatment throughout the ages

soured the notes within its captive spirit

yet melodies played the edge of sound

where it cut the world apart

filleted the song into small parcels

notes to transport one into darker reaches

 

While the harp was handled with deft fingers

in turn it played the crowds, its skill

a chord that stings as the song slices deep

a note that lofts as gentle as a dandelion puff

a tone that burrows, leaving an indelible mark

like the first time one truly made love

 

The harp’s revenge as a misused servant

a song that sets the world to thrumming

a hymn that brings an exhalation of wind

an aria of death as the strings cut profoundly

through the chords of every throat

severing the voices of those who would call

supplications to heaven’s uncaring host

silencing each joy before it was spoken

 

Quietude fell as did hundreds of bodies

the harp left alone as caution’s tales flew

a curse for any would-be listeners, musicians

remained beyond sound’s perimeter

its strings stilled by solitude as fairy tales

grew in the world beyond, decades fluttering by

until Taliesen’s instrument forgot its anger

its purpose, and settled mute forevermore

 

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Colleen Anderson’s poems have been published in numerous venues such as Mirror Dance, Shadow Atlas, The Future Fire, and HWA Poetry Showcase. She is a multiple Pushcart, Aurora, Rhysling and Dwarf Stars Award nominee. Colleen lives in Vancouver, BC and is a Canada Council and BC Arts Council grant recipient for writing and has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada. Her fiction collection can be found in A Body of Work, Black Shuck Books, and her new poetry collection, I Dreamed a World, is available from LVP Publications.