ORGAN DAYS

Robyn  Makaruk

               I climbed the wooden stairs, changed my shoes

               Slid along the bench and flipped the switch

               To hear the grateful sigh of air filling the giant’s lungs

               It was playtime

                     Great, swell, choir and pedal 

                     Sixteen foot stop and others open 

                     Waiting for the tactile opening on the great manual

                     A mordent weighted with a fermata

                     A scurry down to a second mordent 

                     Building anticipation until the pedal enters 

                     With a booming growl, sustained until the arrival of

                     Lacy patterns that chase each other

                     Through the patterns of arpeggios

                     Creating a kaleidoscope of color to a first act end

                     A haunting, fugal stalking begins to gather

                     Its interweaving lines moving to another pause

                     A scurrying recitativo sends shivers through the air

                     Not scrambled but clearly articulated

                     Until the pedal joins the fray in teasing grunts

                     Towards the final, booming, powerful cadence

                     No more production from the beast

                     Just the decay of sound…..on and on

                     Forever captured in the moment

                     Glorious!

                Toccata & Fugue, D minor  J.S.Bach

                     August  2010