Verdi wasn't bad although he
tipped his hat
to Beethoven
it makes me sad, I suppose, that
Beethoven was hitting all those
homers and Verdi was sliding into
first base, all safe, dusting his knees
and looking to second base
(and using baseball metaphors when
talking about classical music is
risky, some readers will not be pleased)
oh, hell, I prefer the club fighters
the bartender in a dive, been there years
the unknown backup quarterback who
comes in throwing arrows, that was Verdi
we should remember the strange courage
of the second raters who plod on
through the long evenings
and the nights are black and long
and the days go on without an end.