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It is all nothing.
Staring at the white and
Lines and numbers,
Adding nothing to the world,
Confiscating life from Bach.
Glorious, loud earphones
Shear me from insanity.
Gently moving arpeggios
Make sense of the world’s structures.
Bach is not drowned by the
The bleakness of our world.
Yet he permeates it and
Strips away the shit.
He leads us to subtle
Victories of joy over
Concrete obstacles to love.
Yet here I sit with numbers,
Vicious lines and terrible white.
Microsoft’s blues do not soften the blows.
Steal whatever will to live
I can find from Bach.
Crystal structures of perfect
Movement in a time made for gods,
Inevitable glory from those
Who made the gods,
Perfect progression
Speaks to the spirit, tells the soul
There is a purpose
For the human,
An infinite house for the soul
Which bathes in the creator’s
Full use of the
Space meant for
Joyous play and
Fullest of loves
Which live far beyond
Any human concept of death.
Bach is here telling me
Right now
Navigate the world
Using the creator’s
Supreme path,
But I’m stuck.
Staring at the white emptiness,
The sharp lines,
The hateful numbers.
What can I give?
Nothing.
An infinite amount of Bach
Will not repair my nothingness.
Talent will never
match desire,
Skill fails to touch
The creator.
Passion is strong.
Please let me learn, let me
Meet the creator,
But the creator hides,
Will never be found.
Run far, take Bach,
Sit in that cave,
Meditate,
Be comfortable
With nothingness.
Rest in the knowledge
Bach met the creator.
Is someone alive
Who can guide me?
Or shall I swallow
My nothingness.
Wait for death.
Nothingness to nothing.
Is it really Wednesday almost already?! I am submitting this one for One Shot Wednesday. The contributions over there are many and are quite good. I love Wednesday!
stillfugue 
#1 by buttercup600 on January 18, 2011 - 10:08 pm
A mastery of phrases, like chimes in the night!! These are poetic stirring words my friend….great write!! oxo
#2 by Carl on January 18, 2011 - 10:30 pm
Thank you, Amanda! You are all too kind!
#3 by SoundEagle on February 28, 2013 - 7:40 pm
Excellent poem! SoundEagle wonders whether the repetition of “the” in the two lines as follows is intentional.
The very last line reminds SoundEagle of the end of a familiar song:
#4 by liv2write2day on January 18, 2011 - 11:12 pm
This is so good, Carl. Tinged with a bit of desolation and a touch of hope. Bach rules! I like the way the last few lines snap you into the present. Thanks for this.
#5 by Carl on January 18, 2011 - 11:14 pm
Thank you for your kind comment – I appreciate it!
#6 by randallweiss on January 18, 2011 - 11:46 pm
There’s an odd mix of fatalism and hope. It works.
#7 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 6:57 am
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it.
#8 by Life: Between the lines on January 19, 2011 - 5:41 am
“Crystal structures of perfect
Movement in a time made for gods”
Awesome phrasing right there…I got lost in it….good job Carl 🙂
#9 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 6:56 am
Thank you – I appreciate your comment, as always!
#10 by trisha on January 19, 2011 - 6:25 am
very beautifully written thought-provoking poem.
#11 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:05 am
Thank you – I appreciate your comment.
#12 by dan on January 19, 2011 - 7:34 am
Music makes a connection with my soul, vibrating long and deep even when I sleep. Math requires concentration and sometimes gets lost, when too much time it costs. Your poem speaks of frustration and emptiness yet filled with Bach and a search for the Creator. To me your words flow like a psalm, despair turning to search, searching for hope, a cry in the wilderness. A beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing.
#13 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:54 am
Thank you so much for your kind words, Dan. It means a lot.
#14 by brian on January 19, 2011 - 8:36 am
i can resonate with the stuckness…and the power of music to inspire us….chase those promptings…nice one shot.
#15 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 6:59 pm
Thanks for your comment, Brian!
#16 by debi on January 19, 2011 - 9:13 am
Beautiful words.
#17 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 6:59 pm
Thank you, Debi! I appreciate it!
#18 by Raven on January 19, 2011 - 9:47 am
It’s amazing how music looks vs. how it feels. I play, not well mind you…I do not have the discipline for it…but I do read. It’s beautifully frustrating as is life.
I disdain the idea of being mediocre. I get this feeling in this piece too. It says a lot to me. Thoroughly enjoyed.
#19 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:01 pm
Your words are so kind! You are right about the disdain for being mediocre – That type of failed idealism sinks me quite a bit. Thank you for commenting.
#20 by siubhan on January 19, 2011 - 10:29 am
“Confiscating life from Bach.” what a glorious line. i agree with randall in that there is just the right “mix of fatalism and hope” in this… lyrical and thought-provoking.
#21 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:02 pm
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it. it is difficult to find the right mix sometimes so it is nice to hear that from both of you.
#22 by coalblack on January 19, 2011 - 2:14 pm
music takes nothingness and makes it sing. you can sing it out. it can heal you, at least enough.
#23 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:02 pm
Thank you for your comment!
#24 by Evelyn on January 19, 2011 - 9:20 pm
wow. great sad comment…
“it can heal you, at least enough”
#25 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 10:11 pm
Interesting. I took it to mean enough for its role in the healing, but you’re thinking it means that it is good enough to be partly healed?
I don’t like being partly healed psychologically because the wounds continue to be too vulnerable to re-opening. I like complete healing, and I am not sure music can do that all by itself.
#26 by Angela Cohan on January 19, 2011 - 2:39 pm
Great work and a great homage to Bach.
#27 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:03 pm
Thank you, Angela! I appreciate it.
#28 by Carys on January 19, 2011 - 5:21 pm
I really enjoyed your words in this Carl. I do feel though that the flow would be greatly improved by less space between the lines and possibly longer lines without capitals at the beginning of each line so the words, phrases and ideas are allowed to flow into one another. For instance, if I may just offer a suggestion
It is all nothing. Staring at the white and lines and numbers,
adding nothing to the world; confiscating life from Bach.
Glorious, loud earphones shear me from insanity;
gently moving arpeggios make sense of the world’s structures.
Bach is not drowned by the the bleakness of our world.
Yet he permeates it and strips away the shit. He leads us
to subtle victories of joy over concrete obstacles to love.
As I say just a suggestion.
#29 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:15 pm
These are great suggestions. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave these ideas.
I have been fighting with the formatting in WordPress where it is changing my single spacing in Word to double and I have been too lazy to find out how to fix it. I think I will put that at the top of the list.
On the length of the lines, I need to learn how to manage that – I have no clue what I am doing. I think that the rhythm of the words is more disjointed as I create most of these and I leave it disjointed, kind of a staccato feel, rather than pulling it together. It’s also this false sense of minimalism.
It is great feedback, and again, I appreciate it. I have lots to learn.
#30 by Evelyn on January 19, 2011 - 9:22 pm
I find that true also.
If I type a post on my blackberry, it appears single space on the computer, but double if I type on the computer.
its quite odd.
#31 by G on January 19, 2011 - 5:45 pm
Perfect words. Beautiful. I can’t even describe how much I like this in so many different ways.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
#32 by Carl on January 19, 2011 - 7:17 pm
You are so kind to come by and comment. Your comment means so much to me! Do you think Bach would have loved Nine Inch Nails? I do.
#33 by Wordywoman on January 19, 2011 - 11:12 pm
Bach, Brahams, Chopin. . .they all bring me to a place of beauty (and raw emotion). Sometimes a melancholic place of beauty but beauty all the same. Great piece. . .
#34 by Carl on January 20, 2011 - 12:31 am
Thank you for your kindness!
#35 by Wordywoman on January 19, 2011 - 11:19 pm
Oh, and I agree with Carys. . .auto capitalization (every line) can detract from the rhythm and is usually used when the poem utilizes a structured, grammatical format (with cap and end punctuation then new sentence/cap and end punctuation).
“It is all nothing.
Staring at the white and
lines and numbers,
adding nothing to the world,
confiscating life from Bach.
Glorious, loud earphones
shear me from insanity.
Gently moving arpeggios
make sense of the world’s structures.
Bach is not drowned by the
the bleakness of our world.”
Just a suggestion 🙂
#36 by Carl on January 20, 2011 - 12:32 am
Thank you again! I love getting the feedback. This really helps me and I appreciate your time.
#37 by Shashi on January 21, 2011 - 11:54 pm
Hi Carl
Great one shot.. I liked it.
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
#38 by Carl on January 22, 2011 - 1:18 am
Thank you for your kind comment, Shashi.