SILENCE BEFORE AND AFTER SOUND

SOUNDS AND SILENCE

The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes—ah, that is where the art resides. – Artur Schnabel – 1958

Artur Schnabel touched the marble

toes of Michelangelo’s

six-ton tower of David.

Although I’d been told they’d feel cold

they felt warm to my fingers.

 “Like keys!” I mused amazed.

But it was in the carved spaces

between the toes that I found

mysteries of beauty.

All of my life I’ve been searching

for the faultless expression

of magical spaces,

spaces of silence, places of rest

between phrases and notes -

now in my hand.

Schnabel touched a marvel between

toes of Michelangelo’s

six-ton tower of David.