An interpretive dancer,
digging deep a well-spring of emotion,
a rescue swimmer, conquering a deep blue ocean.
Coaxing waves of sound into the air,
lyrical arms, infinitely fluid,
life’s highs and lows, all in one movement.
You’re a mad painter, with a magnetic brush
a cool conductor, the master electrician,
invisible puppeteer of every musician
As your arms weave a tapestry of sound
gathering, tying, every strand wound,
I am lifted, elevated a few feet off the ground.
Yes-
vanquished, cajoled, and soothed, I am
because you are like butter, man.
This poem is about Michael Butterman, the conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra during their performance of Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes on April 19, 2013. I was very inspired by the theme of the evening, which also featured Angela Brown singing A Woman’s Life by Richard Danielpour, which was inspired by poetry by Maya Angelou. During Les Préludes the words just started coming to me, inspired definitely by the music, but also by the conductor. I used the prompt for Day 18 of NaPoWriMo to get my poem started, which was to begin and end a poem with the same word.
Music & Poetry, April 19, 2013.
Update 4/22 – This made me happy:
Awesome! RT @lupitatucker Inspired by the #JaxSymphony: a new poem for NaPoWriMo: “Butterman” bit.ly/13HYBm4#napowrimo
— JaxSymMusicians (@JSOMusicians) April 21, 2013
Lupita Eyde-Tucker is a bilingual poet and translator raised in New Jersey and Guayaquil, Ecuador. She is the winner of the 2021 Unbound Book Festival Emerging Poet Award, the 2019 Betty Gabehart Prize, and in 2018 was selected as an AWP Writer to Writer Mentee by poet Maggie Smith. In 2022 her poetry manuscript, "Eucalyptus," was a finalist for the Andrés Montoya Prize from Letras Latinas. The manuscript explores her Sephardic Jewish ancestry and bi-cultural heritage.
Not Enough Poetry 
I am a musician (not professional) and long-time friend of Michael Butterman. This is pure genuis. Thank you for sharing!
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Pam, thank you so much, I am honored and elated that you liked it!
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I adore this poem! 🙂 A lot of poems about music can be very much the same, but this is so original and well written. You’ve got this wonderful flow and rhythm to your writing — keep using it!
– Autore
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Thank you! I am very glad you like it. Your comment has encouraged me greatly 🙂
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