appealing

The Maynard
Spring 2020

John Barton
0:00
 
 

Tchaikovsky, Age 52, Finds His Inspiration

St. Petersburg, Paris, and New York, 1892

Their antics awkward, he consents to score
Mouse soldiers, candies flouncing, ropes of hoar
Frost enthralling forests of pine, a nut
Cracker too tight-lipped to voice the stunted

Prince within, the entr’acte lacklustre
Lead orbs drooping off the bough, sputtering
Candles shunning flame, few snowflakes waltzing
Some cloying waif named Marie or Clara

Too slow-limbed to pirouette or soar
Till flu fells his sister, her vanished pulse
Restringing blown snow, crystallizing cor

Anglais, celesta, timpani, and harp
The witless whittled prince unshelled a man
Making steps for her, no horn abandoned.