Wednesday, February 28, 2018

February Challenge Winner - Musical Instruments

Bagpipe Player by Hendrick ter Brugghen, 1624 (National Gallery of Art)




The winning poem on the musical instrument challenge was not about bagpipes like the one pictured. It was one of the few formal poems submitted.


Pan’s Pipe


Wonder opened up my mind
Enchanting me today.
Attentive to the sound of song
My contemplation moved along
To its creative play.


That’s when I understood it all.
It doesn’t matter how.
It happened faster than when I’m
Repeating sound to make a rhyme.
It opened up the now.


~ Frank Hubeny

The judge, Jim Lambert, commented that “Rhymed poems are difficult to write without sounding trite, having forced rhyme problems, or sounding like kiddie lit.”

Hubeny’s poem flows smoothly. The rhymes don’t feel forced. His poem created an atmosphere which made me feel the enchantment of the music. It reminded me of the many times I have gone to Pueblo Viejo, one of my favorite restaurants in San Miguel de Allende, to hear the music, which often includes Andean pan pipes. It does enchant me and open up something in me that other music doesn’t touch.

Copyright on the poems remains with Frank Hubeny.

Frank Hubeny lives in Northbrook, Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois State Poetry Society and the Prairie Writers Guild of Indiana.  His poetry has appeared in The Lyric, Vita Brevis and Ancient Paths.  He writes poetry prompts for dVerse Poets Pub and he regularly posts poems, stories and photographs on https://frankhubeny.blog.



© Wilda Morris