Since first remembered days there were at hand
(Although I am a solitary man),
Great men -- my friends! -- with me, upon demand.
They most are gone, but all, for me, live on.
Respighi's Roman fountains and his pines;
Johannes Brahms through woods is wandering;
Chopin and friends make music for new times;
Vaughn Williams' *Lark Ascending:* my heart sings!
Rachmaninoff with variations grand;
Mussorgsky's eerie night on mountain bare;
John Phillip Sousa's striking up the band!
Franz Schubert vainly writes for ladies fair.
But Hold! -- where is the greatest of them all?
Beethoven and the Beatles -- I'm in thrall!

09/01/1997

Posted on 11/30/2001
Copyright © 2023 Ronald A Pavellas