in Teddington, England

“I will hear in heaven”, Beethoven once said,
And he does, sitting there on a cloud,
With wild hair, wearing wings, writing quartettes for strings,
Still talking exceedingly loud.

“I’m waiting for Brendel”, he shouts out to Handel,
As Mozart floats past with a smile,
“The best pianist alive to play Number Five,
But he won’t be up here for a while”.

A great orchestra plays his works night and day,
Which a Maestro conducts with closed eyes;
Each composer you love has a cloud up above,
It’s the Radio 3 of the skies.

Gershwin comes along, composing a song,
On the piano he’s playing forever,
“It’s genius, Mr. B, which has brought you and me
And some lesser immortals together”.

Make a note to be good – you might meet Henry Wood,
Promenading about with a baton,
Introducing to you a composer or two,
And the best seats that you’ve ever sat on.

© Lisa Foster.