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  • The Street Musician
  • Anne-Marie Thompson (bio)

More difficult to know how the spirit learnsIts scales, or the exact dimensions of fear…

—Anthony Hecht, "Dichtung und Wahrheit"

Untrained, I never play or put on airs,        and though I knew him well,I don't pretend to be a Paganini.        I have no need to selladmission, since I work on public stairs,preferring not the money but the many.

Tuxedos, houselights, encore and ovation        are for some other stage.There are no program notes. My solo part        is written on a pagethat needs no context and no explanation.I guarantee you'll know the tune by heart.

One morning, as you turn to leave your door,        you'll shudder when it starts.This, my friend, is why a musician's job        is highest in the arts:eyes closed, the notes still ring; you can't ignoremy universal strains, the Danse Macabre. [End Page 234]

Anne-Marie Thompson

Anne-Marie Thompson's recent poems have appeared in Smartish Pace, The Dark Horse, Ploughshares, and The Sewanee Theological Review.

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