Featured Poem for February 2013 - 'Rocking Glockenspiel' by Gemma Lees

'Rocking Glockenspiel' by Gemma Lees

I wanted to rock on my glockenspiel
But Miss had only left two bars on
Not content with a droning dum, dum, dum, dum
With my baton I bashed irrhythmically
Possessed with a dyspraxic urgency
To make music with the others
But I were playing a different song to them
Lost in a perfect pitch posse
All chords played out precisely
On posh violins and flutes
And other clever things
I just wanted to rock on
But the glock was snatched from me
And I was forced to play
Triangle
With wand to cast a tune from three gleaming sides
I carried on
Even when Miss tried to hide
Me right at the back
Behind the chubby cymbals lad
And the trio of discordant recorder blowers
I ting, ting, tinged my way
To the top of the tune
And before I knew it
My status was lowered again
And I was demoted to split peas
Inside a taped-up Vitalite tub
I shook and shook and shook and shook
'Til the tape came undone
And the smarmy, private music lessons after school pack
Were pelted
Tiny split peas in eyes and hair and pockets and trombones
Which were fun for a minute but there’s nowhere to go
There’s nowhere lower than a split pea shaker
Except standing up front and holding Miss’ papers
And that’s how I became a sheet music stand
From standing with shiny triangle in hand
To showering assembled musicians with split peas
Not to mention the music room floor
The fourteen-year-old me
Wannabe glock rocker
Burned out too soon
And was
No more

  

© Gemma Lees 2013
Please do not use without the poet’s permission.

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