Promptly 4 and 5

Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler

A simple man
of frame most spare
unimposing
upon the air

with voice so still
to tell the tale
while his guitar
doth weep and wail

and so he breaks
the empty hush
with gentle notes
while mem’ries rush

the music swells
with passion strong
then fades away
to yearn and long

and so he fills
the gathered throng
with days of youth
and soaring song

each gifted note
to pluck their strings
to lift them up
and make them sing

so in the end
they live a life
in other’s tales
of love and strife.


Line count: 28
Rhymed abcb
For Promptly Poetry Challenge, Week 25
Prompt: Music.
Notes: Mark has been described as the most lyrical of all lead guitarists and there is no doubt he deserves that accolade. But he is much more as well. He unfailingly finds the most beautiful variations of any melody when improvising in those extended lead breaks so typical of him. in this, he is more akin to a modern Johann Sebastian Bach than the vast run of rock musicians. As a lyricist, too, he is outstanding, finding subjects close to his heart and, through gifted word choice, allowing us to feel in the same way. Modern lyricists are often called poets (too often, in my estimation), but Mark deserves that description as much or more than any of them. Yet still, this stands as mere assistant to the quality of his musicianship. There is none other that can make a guitar speak as Mark can. I cannot speak highly enough of him.