a true story
She lived quite alone with her music in exile,
a pianist all by herself in a snug little room
with her piano somewhere in the slums
of the old Kathmandu in Nepaul,
where no tuner could ever be found for her instrument.
Anyway, she kept on playing and giving her lessons
to a very limited circle of musical pupils,
for which she could hardly earn more than her sustenance.
Often she dreamt of her country, Ukraine,
which she could not return to,
since she was bereft of her passport
in the revolution that brought independence;
but she was content as an exile in old Kathmandu in Nepaul.
But then one day her brother came visiting her.
He was shocked and appalled by her living conditions.
"But you live in desperate misery! How can you stand it?
How can you survive? It is worse than intolerable!"
"But I have my old piano and all my old music.
What else do I need? I have everything here!"
But her brother was shocked almost out of his wits
at her misery, poverty and worn out state,
which she had no idea of herself;
and he left, being shaken and unable to understand
how his sister could live so unbearably miserable
like a beggar in exile.
But she continued and still has her piano
somewhere in the old Kathmandu ancient slums
where her only complaint is that no one is there
who can tune her old instrument for her.
Poetry by Christian Lanciai
Read 555 times
Written on 2008-11-27 at 11:31
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The Pianist
She lived quite alone with her music in exile,
a pianist all by herself in a snug little room
with her piano somewhere in the slums
of the old Kathmandu in Nepaul,
where no tuner could ever be found for her instrument.
Anyway, she kept on playing and giving her lessons
to a very limited circle of musical pupils,
for which she could hardly earn more than her sustenance.
Often she dreamt of her country, Ukraine,
which she could not return to,
since she was bereft of her passport
in the revolution that brought independence;
but she was content as an exile in old Kathmandu in Nepaul.
But then one day her brother came visiting her.
He was shocked and appalled by her living conditions.
"But you live in desperate misery! How can you stand it?
How can you survive? It is worse than intolerable!"
"But I have my old piano and all my old music.
What else do I need? I have everything here!"
But her brother was shocked almost out of his wits
at her misery, poverty and worn out state,
which she had no idea of herself;
and he left, being shaken and unable to understand
how his sister could live so unbearably miserable
like a beggar in exile.
But she continued and still has her piano
somewhere in the old Kathmandu ancient slums
where her only complaint is that no one is there
who can tune her old instrument for her.
Poetry by Christian Lanciai
Read 555 times
Written on 2008-11-27 at 11:31
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
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Christian Lanciai |
