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One Summer Day, by Martin Elster

1/3/2022

12 Comments

 
Picture
Beethoven and Nature, by N.C. Wyeth (USA) 1917

One Summer Day

While walking through the woods one summer day,
he glanced along a river, clear and bright,
saw bubbling notes like dappled fish at play,
and dashed them off that night by candlelight.
Meandering down coniferous-scented trails
where chickadees and tree frogs made such noise,
he didn’t hear a thing except the scales
and chords and cadences that were his toys.
He couldn’t hear the leaves in the aspen thickets,
the deer flies buzzing round his graying hair,
the sound of countless madly rasping crickets,
nor the peals of far-off thunder in the air.
Yet who can miss those leaves, that summer breeze,
that river rushing through his symphonies?

Martin Elster

Martin Elster finds contentment in long walks in the woods or the city and writing poetry, often alluding to the creatures and plants he encounters. His poems have appeared in Astropoetica, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Better Than Starbucks, The Centrifugal Eye, The Chimaera, Lighten Up Online, The New Verse News, The Road Not Taken, and others, and is a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee. A full-length collection, Celestial Euphony, was published by Plum White Press in 2019.
12 Comments
Bob Bradshaw
1/3/2022 08:04:22 pm

Beautiful! The deftness is masterly.

Reply
Martin Elster
1/4/2022 05:44:48 am

Many thanks, Bob!

Reply
Ken Gosse
1/4/2022 04:20:58 am

A wonderful piece. An ekphrasis of Wyeth's painting, Beethoven himself, and his music. Thank you, Martin.

Reply
Martin Elster
1/4/2022 05:47:47 am

Thanks, Ken. I was especially thinking of his Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral Symphony).

Reply
Ken Gosse
1/4/2022 11:14:25 am

I suspect Wyeth was, too. I certainly was.

Alarie Tennille link
7/21/2022 06:26:59 pm

Bravo, Ken Gosse! Your poem is equally beautiful and brilliant.

Reply
Alarie Tennille link
7/21/2022 06:32:11 pm

My apologies, Martin, Elster. The beautiful and brilliant praise is all yours. I grabbed the closest name. Mr. Gosse, I know you often deserve praise, too. Sorry for the mistake.

Reply
Martin Elster
7/21/2022 07:15:57 pm

Many thanks, Alaric! I very much appreciate it.

Martin Elster
7/21/2022 07:21:24 pm

Sorry, Alarie, I misspelled your name in my previous reply. It was my computer's autocorrection that was the culprit. Thanks again for your nice words. All the best. Martin.

Reply
Alarie Tennille link
7/21/2022 07:57:06 pm

Your name mistake was much more understandable than mine, Martin. My computer changes my name to Alaric, too. That's supposedly the root of the surname Alarie, but not how I came by the name.

Reply
Luciano
10/28/2023 05:16:18 pm

Really beautiful and deep!!

Reply
Martin Elster
11/6/2023 09:15:23 am

Many thanks, Luciano! Much appreciated.

Best wishes,
Martin

Reply

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