The last sentence on his mind triggered a thought; a memory – an invitation perhaps… for Friday – this Friday – he was sure… but he wasn’t quite at that last sentence just yet.

The raindrops fell heavy, competing with the crashes of thunder and flashes of lightning; with double doors wide open the pianist looked out into the misty, waterlogged scene in the garden before him, and played constantly in time with nature’s rhythm.

Thunder provided percussion, and lightning gave dramatic special effects as the rain provided the sound of a distant and strangely whispered extended round of applause – the applause which pushed the pianist on to play. No sheet music or books of any kind were required by the pianist, he drew inspiration from the elements outside and his fingers flowed across the keys as though nature’s rhythm had taken control of him.

Suddenly he stopped playing.

He thought he heard the wind whisper gently “six sentence café” through the swish of the bare branches as they brushed together in the trees, followed by a thunderous “and bistro” which gave the simultaneous sharp crackles of lightning a strangely familiar “krizzle” sound – and he launched once again, no book or sheet music, into the harmonious flow he channelled from the Universe; he was right – it was an invitation.

This is for Six Sentence Stories, where the prompt word is ‘Book’. It’s a reworking in part of Dance of the Pianist, from way back in 2014 (which in itself was a reworking of an earlier shorter version of the same poem, and has been reposted on this blog umpteen times). And the invitation? Well, Chris Hall’s book launch of The Spirit of the Shell Man is on Friday 4th March at the Six Sentence Café and Bistro; further details can be found here.

26 thoughts

    1. I’m sure I’ve replied to this, Ladysighs… although it’s possible I did so in a different dimension – I do things like that! – I think it was more his fingers dancing, than he himself, but I can’t see a dancing pianist being an impossible concept. Now, me being a dancing pianist, there’s an impossible concept! 😊

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  5. Hi Tom, what an excellent tribute to the Six Sentence Café & Bistro, as well as the shout out for Chris, plus you made a wonderful ode to the joy which is the piano and music and nature. Bravo! AIt brought

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  6. to finish my comment… (alas, heavy-handed drummer’s fingers I own) It brought to mind the film ‘The Pianist’, and I also imagined some jazz greats like Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver playing outdoors during a storm! 😎🎶🎵
    Best – Ford

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  7. Hey! Here’s a compliment not often seen… I jumped slightly* right at the beginning of the last sentence… I was not expecting to see the Six Sentence Café and Bistro
    very cool

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    1. Pleased you think so, Clark. I’ve only just started with these Six Sentence Stories, and I’m currently trying to find the lay of the land, but with Chris’ book launch I felt it needed a mention.

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  9. I found your exposition interesting: creative work is never really finished, is it? It’s just as good as we can make it for now. It’s the same for my poems.

    Love that photo; did you take it?

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    1. It’s like knowing when enough’s enough for now, Tilly; or not knowing, in my case!
      As for the photo, I didn’t take it… I made it in my 3D art creation software! Really pleased you like it. 🙂

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