Shooting Star Poem by Glen Kappy
Shooting Star
Remembering Terry Bagg
1
At that Village reading
even with the coughs
and shuffling papers
even though
my turn to read
was coming up
still I heard
still took in your words—
their range! their nuance!
How were you able
as one so young?
How snatch
the music from the ether
then turn it into phrase?
Though stung by jealousy
my awe gave tacit praise.
2
To meet in London
so soon after—
how far-fetched
how unexpected.
With you in your flat
and at that bar
I felt and saw
how vulnerable you were
how the genius in you
was burning fast
and as time has sadly proven
could not last.
Shooting star indeed! Burned up quick and went to pieces. Or got lost in a bigger galaxy of stars. It's sad though when there is talent that doesn't quite take off. Very good write.
thank you, susan, for your comments. terry was so impressive- i was well-educated, but terry so much better read and with amazing facility with language. and, wisely, he told me in london, in so many words, he was aiming to make his work even more accessible. had he kept on, lived (i don't know what happened with him) , he would have been well-known, i'd guess, in the world of poetry. -glen
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/16/2024 11:17:16 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Like life, that spark of genius is sometimes fleeting. No matter, the words are there, forever..and clearly the inspiration. Off to read Village Poetry Reading...thanks. S.
And now you know, if you didn't already expect it, that the reading referred to in this poem is the same as the other... For years I would occasionally check for poems by Terry subsequent to the one that was published in Poetry. But nothing. I don't know for sure but suspect that Terry passed. -Glen