Riffing: Airport: Astaire’s Fascinating Rhythm Part I
(A stream of consciousness poem)
I’m sitting but not still
I’m drumming digits quick and repetitious until
You walk through my peripheral vision
A vision of potential, of a shared beat
Will you remain my refrain?
Will you create heat?
My thumb ceases making up tempos,
And in rapid succession fall
Index, middle, ring, pinkie
all come to rest upon the armrest
of my uncomfortable chair
and I am, finally,
.Still.
Until
You reach my other peripheral
And keep on walking down the terminal
Because you were but a syncopation
And not my crescendo
Not my coda
You create staccato
I am not one to
Get up and move, dance, emulate movies
Or create unnecessary heartache,
Rather let my fingers go back to drumming
Except now I’m humming
A merry tune of nothing
Since a syncopating rhythm
Was Astaire’s way of saying
Breaking a beat
Can be sweet.
Don’t you think?
—
Boredom can lead to wonderful exercises in creativity. Boredom allows for the most intricate daydreams.
But boredom can be boring, so better to do something.
Like write.