Mozart Songbook by Joan Larkin

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend July 16, 2015   Mozart Songbook   Joan Larkin

Outside on Fremont Ave, black snow and no such thing as a white wig or a lovestruck violet who sings his heart out. My lungs ached, huge with breath and the harsh sweetness of strange words. Veilchen, Mädchen—my brother spoke them to show how my tongue was a gate that could open secrets. He pressed keys partway, to draw softest sounds               from the upright, and what he loved I loved. That was my whole faith then.            Copyright © 2015 by Joan Larkin. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “I was nine when my teenage brother taught me Mozart’s song about a violet who dies happy, crushed underfoot by a careless shepherdess. Since Donald’s death, I’ve been struck more than ever by the ways his early gifts helped shape me, especially his love for music and language.” —Joan Larkin   Joan Larkin’s most recent book is Blue Hanuman (Hanging Loose Press, 2014). The 2012-2015 Conkling Writer-in-Residence at Smith College, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.   Photo credit: John Masterson Poetry by Larkin   Blue Hanuman (Hanging Loose Press, 2014) "A Violin at Dusk" by Lizette Woodworth Reese "Lost Fugue for Chet" by Lynda Hull "Get Up, Please" by David Kirby Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038