MUSIC: Alegria at the Bat

ALEGRIA* AT THE BAT

  

The outlook was quite brilliant for the eastside trio that day.

The stage stood clear before them with but one more group to play.
And when the audience applauded--and the trio did the same--
It was time for them to cozy up and get into the game.

The trio walked onto the stage, they knew they had the stuff.
They also knew the music here could really be quite tough.
But they had worked note by note, and phrase by phrase therein
To give that piece a special flavor, a very special spin.

The coaches all had worked them hard, but in the final say
They hinted that, yes indeed, the group could really play.
However, they did warn them all to frisk around, not fret.
To playfully enjoy the piece and get the tempo set.

The trio members sat in their places, they were ready for the match.
They smiled at one another, a victory they could hatch.
A hundred eyes were on them, it was time to get a-goin'. 
To get each part together, to start the piece a-flowin'.

But then the violist's shoulder rest fell off onto the floor.
She quickly put it on again, but should have fixed it more.
The violist was a-squirming to get into the groove,
To get the "rest" to fit just right as they began to move.
The piece began quite quickly, a little too fast they tell.
And soon the trio, all of them, were flying like bats from hell.

There were other kinds of rests that also popped up here.
They were unintended “pauses"--their bodies were gripped in fear.
They could not seem to function well, so silence seemed the best,
While the violist still was trying to fix her shoulder rest.

And when they finally got together, the coda was coming ‘round,
They tore into it with a vengeance for the final sound.
They were a trio so intent to come back swinging too
For they did not want it to be said it was their Waterloo.

In hindsight, the trio knows just where to place the fault,
For all week long they had to give up every chocolate malt.
It was carrots, celery, some juice too, but not a shake in sight.
No wonder then that they were weak, their brains a tad bit light.

And worse than that, they could not bring any liquor to their room,
No smoking or carousing either; they did doth feel the doom
of having to be healthy.  Oh my!  How can that really be? 
They longed to see their soap operas, to turn on a TV! 

The trio wanted to be rid of healthy, well-meaning thugs
Who wouldn’t let them take their own performance enhancing drugs.
So now you know the reason why, instead of smiling, they pout
For they all knew the reason why their team had just struck out. 

    *An adult group performing at a holistic site that believed in health foods & all

            things bright and beautiful of which they, the performers, were not.

                                                 (Beth Good - 2005)