Barbara Lydecker Crane

Reverberations

“I hear an infinite sweetness in the wood,”

a musician said. Ingrained, there is a story

of bitter times that many have withstood.

The epic tale (more truth than allegory)

starts with African cedars hewn for boards       

and crafted into small, bright-painted dories.

Libyan fishermen could net rewards

of mackerel, bream, bass, sardines, or hake,

till greater income might not be ignored.

People pay when desperate to make

their way up north to Italy or elsewhere.

Fleeing war or famine, they’ll forsake

family, land, language, savings: they’re

handing over thousands for the fee

demanded by the boatmen. Migrants dare

the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea 

although a leaky boat or sudden squall       

might spell their end. The only guarantee—

fear—comes with aches, exhaustion. All

packed in, chests to backs, seated astride,

most survive. But broken boats now sprawl

in one Milan empty lot, outside       

a crowded, run-down prison. A warden’s eyes

envisioned listless inmates occupied

in workshop time recycling wood supplies.

Cedar has a pleasant, spicy smell;         

it’s easily worked yet durable. It’s prized.

A few men were escorted from their cells.

They left the rotting keels like lifeless limbs,

but pried all sturdy ribs apart from shells.

Two who proved adept were taught to trim

the boards into surprising shapes anew—

viols’, violins’, and cellos’ slim

ribs, necks, backs, and fronts; they drew

and carved the curving mouths of sound-holes.

The skills and self-esteem of prisoners grew.

“Now I sing with wood,” said one who scrolled

a shape he’d later trim, and plane, and sand.

He left some traces of bright paint, to hold

a deeper sound and memories of the land 

the wood is from, and orange, red, and green

bobbing boats with human contraband.

An orchestra performed with all fourteen

creations at La Scala opera house,   

where their astounding tale was heard and seen

in The Four Seasons. What better score to rouse

ovations for redemption and rebirth?

Musicians, inmates, migrants, take your bows!

Note: based on AP News, February 13, 2024

In 2024 Barbara Lydecker Crane won the Kim Bridgford Memorial Sonnet Crown Contest, Modern Sonnet First Prize in the Helen Schaibel Contest, and Honorable Mention in the Frost Farm Poetry Contest. She has twice been a finalist for the Rattle Poetry Prize. Able Muse recently published her fourth collection, ekphrastic sonnets entitled You Will Remember Me.