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The Slow Movement, a poem by Edmund F. Byrne


The Slow Movement
by Edmund F. Byrne

With Ashkenazi at the keys
Giuliani signaled for the Brahms
and thunder filled reality
reverberating in my ears
more turbulence than I could bear

I made some tea and tried to read
old arguments that God exists
while hardly sure that I was there
or that the world takes note of me
with or without divinity

Just then the tempo changed
and peaceful strings began to coax
from gentle horns soft mellow chords
that sang inside of me a tonal prayer
which urged the universe to care

Tea and book I put aside
to let some tears reply Amen
to the awesome orchestrations that
ensued in celebration of
what life can be with hope for love


From Edmund F. Byrne: “I'm a retired professor of philosophy. Spent most of my active years at newly established IUPUI. I'm still involved with the Journal of Business Ethics and review books for online anthology called MiSWR.”