May I Call You “sebastian”? Poem by Diana van den Berg

Ten years to the day
Since my beloved Flicka-horse
Went to Heaven,
And deeply immersed
In heart-scraping melancholy and my work
This night, and Bach
With silver trills
And finely honed notes
Singly and collectively
Melting a pathway
Deep into my memories
Of Flicka
And Daisy-dog
And Tigger-cat
Both there with Flicka
And way, way back to earliest childhood
Where music and beauty and deep thoughts
And games with rules unknown to any but me
And crafting of memories,
Were ingrained in my pre-school self
Without articulation
Neither then nor now,
But remembered with the ache of loss
And tender reminiscence.
Sebastian, if I may call you that, Mr Bach,
How did you know my heart so well?
Seeing you know me so intimately,
You will understand the depth
Of my thank you.

(28 April 2012)