Rautavaara in Minnesota

If birds cannot play in the concerto,
bring the music up into the air.

If an artist is not a Modernist
when he is young, he has no heart.

If one harp will not rise above the din,
Compose for two harps to speak as one.

If he is a Modernist when he is old,
he has no brain.

If the poet cannot find his angel,
he needs to find his eyes.

If the pianist cannot feel the chord
within the reach of her fingers

she must play with the whole of her arm,
for the chord must be catastrophic.


-Marck L. Beggs


Marck L. Beggs is a professor of English and dean of the graduate school at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.