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Listening to Schumann’s
Piano Concerto
by Dzvinia Orlowsky
That we don't all die in childhood
is the greater miracle,
God lifting His light hand
to bring out a phrase, clearing the pedal.
We wear our jewels for the afternoon,
startle birds with the immensity
of our human shadows.
We've made it to hard chairs.
Restlessly our hands roll program notes
into telescopes; we intercept genius
with our signature cough.
But what is to be known of great music
other than it requires black polished shoes
and silence,
the incontestable desire to sleep?
See how our mouths relax into soft wax,
our faces drip down our throats.
This is what it must feel like to be lovingly held.
Hear how beauty begs forgiveness
for not including us.
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Bio: Dzvinia Orlowsky is a founding editor of Four Way Books and the author of three poetry
collections including "Except for One Obscene Brushstroke" (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2004).
Her poetry and translations have appeared in numerous anthologies including "A Map of Hope: An
International Literary Anthology; From Three Worlds: New Writing from the Ukraine"; and "A Hundred
Years of Youth: A Bilingual Anthology" of 20th Century Ukrainian Poetry. She currently teaches at
the Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program at Pine Manor College.
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