Knowing the Score                                             


            The lecturer began by playing
            Excerpts from the string quartet I loved

            But always at the very point 
            My lungs began to grin
            He cut them off
            To map out harmonies

            And chord by chord
            Connect the signatures of key
            Philosophers to justify 
            The music’s magnitude or height or
            Depth – 

            I now forget 
            Because it seemed like ancient Greek to me 
            With foreign battlefields 
            Laid waste by bullet points and arrows
            In an annotated new Peloponnesian War

            That night the actual performance of the work
            Restored me to my peace

            I must confess:
            As far as music is concerned
            I much prefer to listen than
            To know the score


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            Emanuel E. García, Wandering Bark2013

            author's audio reading