The Minnesotian Orchestra Of Barber Street Poem by nathan martin

there is a small park in minneapolis
along barber street.

not much to look at..

a baseball field with a rundown
playground on the corner
that looks like a good place to get a staff
infection.

there is a large mud puddle or pond
about 30
feet wide on the north side that the locals
have
named lake osma.

its said that they did it so that they would
have
waterfront property and their houses
would be worth more.

they take pride in their dumpy park and
keep it clean
considering it their little bohemian
paradise.


on every other thursday rain of shine from
may to september
the neighbors gather together to play as
the osmonian society
or barber street orchestra.

they play mostly nordic composers with
an extreme amount
of brevity and a somewhat low level of
cursing.

the chamber section consist of a
trombone player with an ac/dc tee shirt,
a long haired flugelhorn lady and two
flannel clad trumpet players.

you can usually find on a picknick table
next to them a wrinkled
copy of ennio morricone's concerto
the exctasy of gold along
with several cases of pabst blue ribbon.

last time i heard they were working on a
finnish version of smoke
on the water called smolke on the water.