Neil Flory - ostinati

Poet and classical pianist Neil Flory breaks the cold hush of an autumnal moment in his sparse “ostinati”. Named for a repetitive rhythm in music, this poem unfolds an unexpected pattern for readers in the stillness. Neil informed The Dewdrop that “ostinati” was written in the woods near Chautauqua Lake, in western New York State. “Nature has always been a source of spiritual truth and renewal for me. Rooted in my daily practice of mindfulness, observational poems written outdoors form no small part of my output,” Neil explained to The Dewdrop, continuing, “Music is another source for me, so it’s no surprise that musical concepts and references often find their way into my poems.”

ostinati

mute
of twig-stitch. left
distance: highway. repetitive
whine of trucks. Keith
Jarrett’s ostinato
meditations. mud-leaf
stitch. imprint:
gulls’ wings’ vigor
over gray
lake. calls
in rippled air. John
Cage: nothing
to say and I am saying
it. intricate
of every leafless
fingernail-of-winter
tree.

John,
you were right! the sound
of the truck that just passed by
is music.
and silence. and
emptiness.
breath.
and is.
and now
is.

Neil Flory

Neil Flory is the author of mudtrombones knotted in the spill (Arteidolia Press, 2023). Nominated for a 2023 Pushcart Prize by swifts & slows, Flory’s poetry has also appeared in various other journals such as Ink in Thirds, Poetry Pacific, Fleas on the Dog, GAS, and Word For/Word. Flory is also a composer of classical music, a college music professor, and a pianist whose enthusiasm for improvisation in live recital settings knows no bounds. He lives among the wooded hills and lakeshores of Western New York State with his wife, published poet and fiction writer Elaine Flory, and their three hyperactive cats.