Frank E Gibbard Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) Old as it is now and mute the red concertina still evokes a music of history, a note keen to me. Handed down a family heirloom antique but of no value except to whom this instrument plays its silent harmony. Mum regaled us with her tale of a man we never knew, a gentle gent of Ireland. Seaman Doyle had sailed in real sail-ships and would tell of right whales, life before the mast, the how and why of how he lost that eye. Bridget's daddy enchanted her with briny shanty tunes deftly fingured with his rope-hardened matelot's hands. The player and listeners have in turn all trickled away like time's unquenching sands. The melodeon stands still on a shelf today I see, I hear a hornpipe playing far away ... [Visualised in mind's eyes] Late evening 1920s on a hard earthen floor of a tiny Cork coastal cottage, dim-lit by oil lamp wattage, red concertina in rough hands merrily vamping, an aged sailor's land-lubbered legs start their rhythmical stamping: "Dance a jig for yor daddy Bridie dance for yor da, Jus' one mor girlie an' den eyel take a dish of tay." Edited February 4, 2011 by Frank E Gibbard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Wow Frank! This is wonderful! A lyrical tale vivid and touching. My paternal grandfather played the concertina. It too was red and I don't know what happened to it. He died before I was born but my grandmother would bring out the concertina and tell the best stories about my grandfather growing up in Australia. She was a master storyteller and could mimic his accent, keeping us kids enthrawled. Thanks for the reminder. ~~Tink Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 This one really comes from the heart, Frank, and you've got the tones just right. I'm almost ready to overlook that travesty of a Cork accent in the closing lines!! Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Fantastic, Frank! From the internal rhymes to the stanza breaks, to the use of the parentheses, to the overall length of the poem, everything is just right. And the use of the accent in the last stanza is measured and not overdone. Tony Quote Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank E Gibbard Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Wow Frank! This is wonderful! A lyrical tale vivid and touching. My paternal grandfather played the concertina. It too was red and I don't know what happened to it. He died before I was born but my grandmother would bring out the concertina and tell the best stories about my grandfather growing up in Australia. She was a master storyteller and could mimic his accent, keeping us kids enthrawled. Thanks for the reminder. ~~Tink >>>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks Tink so much. I don't know how I got the wrong instrument name, it was an early concertina as in squeeze box type like you cite not a melodeon. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_con Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Pitch Perfect Frank- a true gem. It evoked a shared memory that is at once all too familiar and yet delightfully 'other.' Enjoyed greatly! DC&J Quote thegateless.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Hello Frank. Many traditional tunes and enduring songs were conceived on such simple 'instruments of the people'. Played acoustically and without amplification, they still have the power to mesmerize an audience into silence or lift them into raucous choruses of joy. Your excellent poem affords an insight into a world which nowadays, seems only to echo in the back rooms of public houses, supported by a few folk-music enthusiasts. Thank you for posting a most enjoyable poem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.