J. S. Bach Said: by Joan L. Cannon

J. S. Bach Said:

Joan L. Cannon

The instrument plays itself…

Is that a metaphor spoken with a wink?
“The right key at the right time,” would make you think
that’s all that’s needed for blissful sound
from human throats, fingers, lips, that eyes
to read those notes can satisfy our longing for melodies.

If only that were all it takes,
just knowing what makes
our thirsty hearts to drink
such art in choristers’ strains
to rise from downbeat, to fall like rains.


About the Author

Joan L. Cannon is a native of New York City. She has been a teacher, an editor, but above all, a reader. She is the author of the novels Settling and Maiden Run, and Peripheral Vision, Stories. She has published a number of short stories and profiles, and poems in online journals. She currently writes reviews and essays for the online magazine Senior Women Web. She lives in a retirement community near the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.