The Cellos’ Arc
Juxtaposition in the first verse of the tune,
the cellos’ lilt like a dance, but their haunting
tones tell another story beneath the surface—
how the tale will end with the promises shared
in the song’s first rhythms, not held until its last notes
Like life, art imitates, and while one cello
lifts the melody to light and airy heights
the other brings a bass line of sorrow
and loss. As though the musicians know
this story by heart—know the ending
before it begins. But they should, they have
played it many times before and the ending
has been written, in the measures and bars along
the staff. In the beats and rhythms of
life. In the way it always goes. But maybe
just this once, the song will take a detour
and surprise us with its chorus and final verse.
I just love this. An awesome poem
Thank you, Brian!! Hope you are enjoying this year’s prompts as much as I am!!
This is wonderful, really immersive and detailed.
Thank you, Caitlin! I don’t know musical stuff that well, so I did have to look up a few terms. Great prompts again this year! Thank you for picking and organising them in such an inspiring way.
Such fun to see how many prompts/images we both chose in common – and in this case, how similar our responses. I love cello; and this piece in particular felt so like a dance, a conversation. You captured it beautifully. I want to put ours side-by-side to follow our respective steps through the music… Thank you
Hello Sarah!
Very strange… I had written a response to your message on June 29th and it doesn’t seem to be here? Not sure what happened but thank you for your amazing words–maybe it is because I went directly to your piece and shared my thoughts there? It is cool to know we chose similar prompts and images!!