This Bach's for You

In the lead of March
in fog and snow
and wet that saturates
the soul
I call for alms
a fugue, a prelude
sarabande
partita
passacaille
sixteenth note melodies
of points and counterpoints
a cantata
and a well-tempered clavier
this Bach's for you
to break the gray
and fill the heart again
with dreams
and hope.

Bach, Bach, Bach, Bach
like so many chickens clucking
Bach cluck Bach cluck Bach cluck
point and counterpoint
feathers pour forth
from my throat
as lyrics stick
I strike a chord
and then another
two three
cluck up Bach Bach
with fingers possessed
by ancient memory
I run a triplet
up and down
through Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire
to Goldberg playing out his variations.
This Bach's for you.

St. Matthew's Passion
and St. John's
both rise to move
a steel day
of doom and gloom
to a Bach Bach cluck cluck
clavier of light
the Magnificat
shines through.

This Bach's for you!