BEETHOVEN'S NINTH SOLSTICE

A poem by DEBRA A HOFFMANN

In the first morning chill
A Cardinal at my windowsill
The day is dark, sky foreboding
As though nature smiled always knowing
And the red bird breakfasts on bread and seed
I still have what I always need

And music, always when I wake
As coffee now for coffee's sake
For melody can always soothe me
As notes and half clefts wander through me
From dreams I dreamt of last night
I copy them in morning light
Hearing thunder in my soul
As though some divine thunder roll

And cinnamon, spices in the air
From the apartment over there
The fire dances in the grate
Around me the city comes awake
I hear it all from deep inside
As music fills this morning light.

There was a time it caused me pain
For what I can't hear, despite acclaim,
I can play, know angels sing
Against my shoulder brush their wings
Yet I can't hear them with my ears
Though in my soul it's crystal clear

And my Cardinal friend in your red coat
Giving forth your winter notes
Happy just to be alive
As I am, as I strive
To give voice to this mysterious gift
The magic caught in every rift

And midday seems to come so soon
In weaving in and out of tune
I walk through first snow of the year
To an inn known for it's beer
And sit to fowl and bread and wine
Content with company for a time

Back while still there is light
The candles burning help my sight
To work on this last symphony
Through divine comedy
Of all that life has poured before me
How could I know generations would adore me?

A moment, in this Solstice
Of faithful love and indrawn breath
Holly and ivy on piano here
Their beauty moving and crystal clear
For I can sense magic now
'You're blessed and loved' Fates avow
And I smile for all the times I doubt
When I wondered what it was all about

So with a last flourish of pen
I brush a chord, begin again
And watch the day cross into night
As the fire burns so bright
I can almost reach out and feel
This wonder now that is so real

So Happy Yuletide, Solstice bright
On this cold Vienna night
Where timelessness has given birth
For Music Muse bridges heaven and earth
Divine inspiration wraps around
A Universe of holy Sound
And stars blaze out with untold glory
In an ageless Solstice story