 | New poems by Madison Cawein |  |
241
THE BAGPIPE
Here is a tale for poets and for players:There was a bagpipe once, that wheezed and whistled,
And droned vile discords, notes that fairly bristled,
Nasal and harsh, outbraying all the brayers.
And then the thing assumed another bearing:
Boasted itself an organ of God's making,
A world-enduring instrument, Earth-shaking,
Greater than any organ, more sky-daring.
To prove which, lo, upon an elevation
It pranced and blew to its own satisfaction,
Until 'twas heard from Key West far as Fundy.
But while it piped, some schoolboy took occasion—
There was a blow; a sudden sharp impaction;
The wind-bag burst ... Sic transit gloria mundi.
| New poems by Madison Cawein | |