jan zwicky: practising bach (menuet I/II)

Menuet I & II


There's nothing special in it. All you have to do
is hit the right key at the right time. Time:
that stream in which we do, and do not,
live. Just practise diligently; it will all go well. You have
five fingers on each hand, just as healthy as my own. 
Unison, the octave; the fifth, the fourth, the third.
Of the strings? The viola, if I have a choice.
At the keyboard, don't forget to use your thumb.
God's glory and the recreation of the mind.
What I really need to know:
does the organ have good lungs?
The partita of the world, the dance of being: everything
has to be possible.


and now, click on this link to hear the menuets.

Zwicky, Jan. "Practising Bach" The Best Canadian Poetry in English. Markham: Tightrope Books, 2009.