This poem was inspired by a performance of the Croatian cellist, Stjepan Hauser, in a breathtaking ancient Roman Amphitheater.  You may watch it on the YouTube at “HAUSER & friends: Gala Concert at Arena Pula 2018.”  Watch it and become entranced!

HAUSER

 

What is the secret

Of your sex appeal?

Is it the way you cradle your cello

Between your legs like a lover?

Is it the way every mood,

Every nuance of the melody

Breaks across your expressive brow,

With ripples of passionate emotions —

Tenderness,

Longing,

Sorrow,

Regret?

Is it the way you glance

Sidelong at the nubile pianist,

Your bodies back-to-back

As you sway in a give and take,

Dancing a waltz of love

Under a full moon?

Is it the way you stage your performance

In an ancient Roman amphitheater,

Golden lights illuminating stone arches,

With a full string orchestra?

Is it the two huge screens that project

Your image larger than life,

So we can catch every sensual thought

That enters your mind?

Is it the way you toss your head

And attack the strings

With a supple bow?

Is it the way your fingers vibrate,

Creating a rich tremolo

That soars to the heavens?

You speak to us in a sultry

Croatian tongue,

Sounding like you wish to seduce us

Simply because we are beautiful,

And you adore the beauty in us.

The cameras pan the audience

Of lifted feminine faces,

Eyes shining,

Each woman

Feeling like you are playing only for them.

“The cello is the instrument

Most like the human voice,”

You tell us, and we believe.

When I watch you

I am struck with the realization

That this force you exude

Is stronger than the tides,

Mysterious as the deep,

Fulfilling as the sun.

Play on!